ANALYSIS: PM's Ability to Bear Burden of War is Put to the Test

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will face one of his toughest tests since the war broke out. He will have to determine the scope of the Israel Defense Forces' ground operation against the Hezbollah rocket-launching cells that have sown destruction in the Galilee.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz are pressuring Olmert to approve a ground operation. Peretz and Halutz believe that this will bring the war to a "different" end. But Olmert is hesitating.

Until now fighting on the ground has been conducted cautiously and slowly, resulting in fewer casualties than in previous wars. But bringing thousands of soldiers beyond the IDF's current position, deep into Hezbollah land, will exact a high cost in human life.

If Israel expands it ground operation, it is liable to be seen as the side trying to bring down the diplomatic effort and encounter a call for an immediate cease-fire. On the other hand, this is precisely the time to increase the military pressure, in an effort to squeeze last-minute concessions out of the Lebanese.

In his appearances this week, the prime minister said he doesn't need to intervene in professional military matters. "Don't teach the chief of staff what to do," he told Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who called for an expansion of the ground operation. "The political echelon does not get involved in military tactics."

The problem with Olmert's remarks is that they sound like he is preparing for a possible post-war inquiry commission.

After the Yom Kippur War, Golda Meir told the Agranat Commission that due to her lack of military experience, she was forced to take expert advice. The commission accepted her answer and did not hold her responsible for the failures of the war. Olmert's comments about his reliance on the recommendations of security officials brings up echoes of the past. But ultimately, even when Halutz and Peretz are advising him, Olmert bears the ultimate responsibility - and Wednesday, his ability to do so will be put to the test