YOU CAN ADMIT FAILURE - AND STILL NOT RESIGN!!!

WHY, indeed is this man smiling? I haven't found this in English, but on the Hebrew NFC website the following is being reported:

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"WE CANNOT PROVIDE SECURITY FOR SDEROT"

The Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, admits that the government of Israel, for the immediate future, cannot provide personal security, for the citizens of Sderot and the areas in close proximity to Gaza.

..."Your life in the State of Israel is subject to a certain degree of risk, and one who wishes to live in the Jewish State takes upon himself this risk. It is still a much smaller risk than those that Jews face all over the world," Olmert said at the Caeserea forum.

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Read the rest here [Hebrew website - above is my translation].

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UPDATE, Friday morning: Arutz Sheva [English] covers it lightly, here.

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UPDATE 2, mid-day Friday: The Jerusalem Post has it, and take a good look at the feedback. Here's one I just couldn't resist:

Olmert Unable to Protect His Country - Time for Him to Exit - J, 06/29/2007 05:34
No confidence vote. Military coup. Civilian unrest and protest. Political coup. Anything to get this man out of office. His goal is to destroy Israel - consciously or subconsciously. He is not fit to be prime minister.

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But a degree of consolation can be found in a brilliant op-ed by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman in The Jerusalem Post. I bring you perhaps the best part, what Ollie, Peres, and Barak SHOULD BE saying:

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Peres: "I ask forgiveness for the sin of Oslo. I sincerely thought that a new Middle East was upon us, but I was completely in error. Oslo was a disaster for us. The Arabs never wanted peace, they want only to eliminate us by any means - even by declaring peaceful intentions. I was too blinded to see this and I pushed hard for the Oslo agreements. This led to misery and to bloodshed, and I sincerely regret it. I am ashamed of my deeds and will never again repeat them. Nor will I ever again ask for the trust of public office."
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Olmert: "I ask forgiveness for the sins of Gaza and the sin of the Second Lebanon War. I agreed with Sharon that by forcing the Jewish citizens of Gaza out of their homes, Israel would win the sympathy of the world and would convince the Arabs of our peaceful intentions. I was wrong on all counts. We achieved no sympathy, we hurt almost 10,000 of our most idealistic Israelis, and we only convinced the Arabs that we were in retreat. I was too blinded to see all this, and it has led to bloodshed and misery for all of us. The current nightmare situation in Gaza - which has become a Hamas and al-Qaida stronghold that bombs Israel daily - is a direct result of my miscalculation. I am ashamed of what I did, and I will never again ask for the trust of public office.
"The same holds true for my sins in the Second Lebanon war. Winograd was right: I made terrible errors in judgment that cost us dearly. The same holds true for all the ethical questions swirling about my financial dealings. I regret all this and apologize as I return to private life."

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Barak: "I ask forgiveness for evacuating our soldiers from Lebanon when I was PM. I thought this would convince the world and the Arabs of our peaceful intentions. I was wrong on all counts. The Arabs want only our destruction, and their several intifadas prove this. I also ask forgiveness for trying to give most of the Old City to Arafat during the Wye talks. All we got in return was more killings and more intifada. I regret all this, and as an act of repentance I pledge never again to ask for the trust of public office."

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Halevai [if only] they would talk like that! Read the entire piece here.