Translated material
"They didn't let us win"
Israeli reservists criticize commanders for indecisiveness and lack of professionalism
“We were not allowed to win,” was the statement yesterday made by reservist soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who fought in southern Lebanon. In an open letter to Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz, they speak of a deep crisis of trust between soldiers and senior political and army leadership. They claim that the war was lost because the command forgot how to make decisions.“We left wives and children, girlfriends and relatives. Each of us knew that we were risking our lives for the just cause of protecting the people of Israel,” the reservists write. “But we were not prepared for one thing: the indecisiveness of the army command and the lack of professionalism of the commanders. We walked into enemy territory, under Hezbollah bullets and missiles, without clearly defined tasks, without a plan and without meaning. Traces of cowardice and indecision were visible in every decision of the command,” says the letter, which appeared in Israeli publications yesterday.
This letter is not the only manifestation of dissatisfaction with the army command. After the end of hostilities in Lebanon, a barrage of criticism fell on the Israeli military and politicians. According to the Haaretz newspaper, Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz has even begun to consult with lawyers in case he is forced to appear before a commission investigating the actions of the military command in southern Lebanon.
According to the Israeli press, the blame for the large number of casualties among the Israeli military largely lies with the head of the operational department of the General Staff, Major General Gadi Eizenkot. According to the tactics he developed, small special forces units had to enter the same villages over and over again. The failure of this tactic is evidenced by losses: during the month of confrontation, 117 IDF soldiers were killed.
“The military command is deservedly accused,” says Vremya Novostey’s interlocutor, military observer for Channel 9 of Israeli television, and former IDF press secretary Andrei Kozhinov. Throughout the 34 days of the war, he was on the Lebanese-Israeli border. “It was a mess at the front. The military command gave orders and canceled them at the last moment. The soldiers did not know the objectives of the operation. The two battalions could act so uncoordinated that they opened fire on their own several times. Problems were created in everything from coordinating military actions to providing soldiers with everything they needed,” the newspaper’s interlocutor does not hide his indignation.
Most of all, Andrei Kozhinov was struck by the actions of the military and political leadership of Israel in the last days of the conflict. “Four days before the end of the war, it became known that the UN Security Council would adopt a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Israeli leadership unexpectedly decided to act and gave the order to clear the territory of Southern Lebanon from Hezbollah militants to the Litani River (30 km from the Lebanese-Israeli border. - Ed. ) in four days. It was clear to everyone that it was impossible to do this in the remaining days. In the last four days in Southern Lebanon, soldiers died for nothing, because of the incomprehensible ambitions of the leadership,” says Vremya Novostey’s interlocutor. Over the last four days of the war, from August 10 to 13, 37 IDF soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon and more than 90 were wounded.
For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, the government, at the proposal of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, decided to pay reservist soldiers a bonus for military service in Lebanon. This applies to everyone who was mobilized on an urgent agenda. A soldier who served from 10 to 21 days will receive 1,000 shekels ($220), from 21 to 26 days - 1,500 shekels ($330), and over 26 days - 2,000 shekels ($440).
However, the move is unlikely to silence those demanding the resignation of the top military and political commanders. Yesterday, Israel's State Comptroller Micah Lindenstrauss said that his office would begin a full-scale investigation into the circumstances of the operation in southern Lebanon. According to him, the audit will cover all aspects, including financial ones, as well as the decision-making process, direct actions of the army, intelligence services and government, care for the home front and much more.
After every war, and Israel has already experienced seven in its 58-year history, a commission is created to investigate the actions of the military command. The most famous of them - a commission led by investigator Agranat - appeared after the Yom Kippur War in 1973. She recommended that the then Chief of the General Staff, David Elazar, be removed from office. But soon after the results of the commission’s work were announced, he himself resigned.
The current military leadership is not yet planning to resign voluntarily. Yesterday Dan Halutz said that the war with Hezbollah militants could resume in the coming weeks. The basis for this, according to the Chief of the General Staff, could be new supplies of weapons to Hezbollah militants from Iran and Syria.