UPDATED: REACTIONS TO THE WINOGRAD REPORT

The Arab media is greeting the Winograd Report as proof that Israel was defeated in Lebanon last summer and is vulnerable for further defeat.

Arab Media Trumpet Signs of Israel's Defeat - Khaled Abu Toameh
Political commentators throughout the Arab world said the Winograd Report on last summer's war in Lebanon is a sign of Israel's military weakness and hailed Hizbullah for defeating the "invincible" IDF. However, some looked at the positive aspects of Israel's democratic system. "By establishing commissions of inquiry after wars and holding those responsible for failure accountable, Israel is showing how strong it is," said newspaper columnist Hassan Khader. "We failed to establish commissions of inquiry into the way decisions were being made or the way money was being wasted," he said. "That's why we have reached a stage where gangs and militias are popping up as fast as mushrooms and are hijacking our cause." (Jerusalem Post)

The NY Sun praises the report as an example of what a free and open society Israel is.

The Winograd Report - Editorial (New York Sun)

The Israeli political system is already dealing with the findings of the interim report of the Winograd Committee, established to evaluate Israel's difficulties in last summer's war in Lebanon.

From where we sit, here in America, the report itself, and the capacity for self-criticism it indicates, is a sign of Israel's strength. Can one imagine an independent government commission in Jordan or Saudi Arabia writing a report scathingly criticizing the Hashemite or Saudi king, then seeing the report published in the local press and debated and discussed openly by the population? Such an action would be impossible in Egypt or in Syria - anyone who tried to convene such a committee would be thrown in jail.

So in our view, those enemies of Israel who see in the Winograd report a sign of weakness or of self-doubt in Israel are mistaken. It is through such open debate that societies are able to improve themselves, which is why Israel, whatever its faults, has an economy that is much stronger than its neighbors, a military that is mightier than its enemies, and a population that is more free.

The NYT says the lesson, as always, is that Israel must make sacrifices for peace with its peace-loving neighbors:

One major lesson of the Lebanon experience is that Israel cannot defeat its most dangerous enemies by brute force alone. Its security and survival require a more active diplomacy toward the Palestinians and Syria--and a willingness to take risks. More than ever, Israel needs a government and a leader strong enough to steer it wisely through the uncertain hazards of war and bold enough to test the equally uncertain possibilities for peace.

Of course, Israel has never relied on brute force alone. It has always taken "risks for peace," and as the fruits of those risk (the Olso accords, the unilateral Gaza pullout) show, they make bitter wine. Needless to say, it is Israel's "neighbors" who need to show some diplomatic flexibility.

UPDATE: Inquiring Minds Want to Know (BackSpin)
While the MSM spills ink and breaks quills assessing the unfolding fallout from the Winograd report, Jonathan Freedland and Roger Cohen raise important points about the bigger picture of Israeli democracy. Freedland, of The Guardian, writes:

Israel's boast that it is the only democracy in the Middle East is often met with a snort. But this exercise has shown that - at least within its own borders - Israel is capable of a democratic accountability entirely absent in its region. Imagine for a moment a panel of Syrian wise men or Egyptian elders delivering a similar message to Bashar Assad or Hosni Mubarak. They could expect to receive not plaudits, as Winograd has, but at best a lengthy spell in prison.

In the International Herald-Tribune, Cohen suggests more issues for inquiring minds:

How about a Saudi commission on how 15 of its citizens came to be among the 9/11 hijackers? Or a Lebanese commission on how Hezbollah has been able to operate as a quasi-independent armed entity within the state? Or an Iranian commission on how the hopes of its 1979 revolution led only to another form of dictatorship?

When those commissions convene, the Middle East will move forward.