Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted on Thursday that there were failures in the management of the IDF and the Home Front during the war in Lebanon. In a televised interview, the prime minister also rejected criticism over the continuation of IDF operations despite the ceasefire secured by the United Nations Security Council. "It was a correct, justified and responsible decision, which was made out of consideration for all the issues involved. It was impossible for us to halt operations at that time, since we would have endangered the soldiers' lives," explained the prime minister. "The IDF told me that we had to continue until we reached a point where if Hizbullah continued with its activities we would not be in an inferior (strategic) position," said Olmert, Army Radio reported.