Are Any Middle East Leaders Left?

Apparently the fallout of the Winograd Commission report on Israel's handling of last year's war in Lebanon has been swift, with one cabinet minister already resigning.

Eitan Cabel is the first member of the government to step down after a report accused Mr Olmert and his government of failures of judgment over the war.

"I cannot sit in a government headed by Ehud Olmert," Mr Cabel said, calling for Mr Olmert to resign immediately.

Mr Olmert says he intended to stay in office despite the damning report.

The calls on Olmert to resign are growing stronger. It reminds me of something I heard Henry Waxman say in a speech to constituents. There are no leaders in the Middle East who are beloved by their people. Olmert's obviously hated. In Syria, the pictures are of Assad's father, who is seen as more respected. The Saudis are barely tamping down the divisiveness in their populace. Same thing in Iran. Maliki shouldn't even be talked about in Iraq. Even Jordan's king is not as beloved as his predecessor.

There's a major disconnect between the power brokers in the region and the people. Maybe that's why the unrest continues.

UPDATE: Another good point about Israel - they actually welcome accountability for botched wars.

Unlike our chest-beating, play-acting warriors here, war is not something that Israelis cheer on for fun like a video game from behind their computer monitor or sitting on their sofa watching CNN or Fox. When they advocate wars, they pay a price. As a result, they don't have the luxury of shutting their eyes and pretending that things are going well -- or exploiting accusations of treason in order to stifle war criticisms -- or cheering on failing wars for years for no reason other than to avoid having to admit error or feel weak.

All of that stands in such stark contrast to the shrinking though still-substantial faction in this country who see war as a fun and sterile video game that never requires them to pay any price -- no matter how profoundly the war fails. That is what enables them to cheer on those wars for years without end, to urge still new and more destructive ones, and to childishly insist that there is something noble and compulsory about keeping quiet, loyally cheering on the Leader's war, and pretending that things are going great and we are on the verge of success.