After a day or two of nervousness that Israel may have lost its nerve, its offensive against Hezbollah is well back on track, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert giving the authority for an IDF ground push to the Litani river and possibly beyond. This is a necessary, and frankly, belated move on Israel's part.

The United States should support Israel in this new escalation that will neutralize even more of Hezbollah's infrastructure in south Lebanon, and severely damage its ability to continue killing Israeli citizens. A forced ceasefire at this moment would allow Hezbollah to declare victory and would reduce Israel's deterrence ability, virtually guaranteeing a full scale regional war in the not too distant future, with Syria and Iran believing that they could attack Israel directly or indirectly with little price to pay.

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Well, I thought Israel had decided to take the initiative, but now there is more talk of postponing it if "progress" is made in the UN.

Meanwhile, Ari Shavit is unequivocal in his appraisal of PM Ehud Olmert's performance:

There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army's original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front.

Still, if Olmert had come to his senses as Golda Meir did during the Yom Kippur War, if he had become a leader, established a war cabinet and called the nation to a supreme effort that would change the face of the battle, a penetrating discussion of his failures could be postponed. But in blinking first over the past 24 hours, he has become an incorrigible political personality. Therefore, the day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister's office. Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister.