August 19, 2006 at 13:02:15

Firing Squad: Time for Accountability in Israel

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By John E. Carey (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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Israel lost 118 Israeli soldiers and 39 civilians in the conflict that began July 12, when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Reservists also complained of lack of essential equipment.

There were three key objectives of the war:

--Elimination of Hezbollah's rockets.

--Disruption or annihilation of Hezbollah.

--Return of captured Israeli soldiers.

None of these objectives were met.

The people of Israel now have a diminished confidence in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Israel's enemies are surely emboldened that the IDF is now no longer seen as invincible.Mr. Peretz is already trying to implicate defense chiefs in his downfall. As public criticism of the war's handling mounted in Israel, the Haaretz daily quoted Defense Minister Amir Peretz Wednesday as saying top military officers did not relay all relevant information about Hezbollah's arsenal after he took office in May.

Israeli soldiers are returning from Lebanon with complaints of poor training and equipment.

And there are other controversies involving Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz but they are of no consequence. The fact that Israel waged a war so unsuccessfully, and flattened much of southern Lebanon in the process, is a responsibility that clearly rests upon his doorstep.

Chief of Staff

Senior Israel Defense Forces officers expressed dissatisfaction yesterday with the announcement by Chief of Staff Dan Halutz that he had recently instructed the Field Security Directorate at the General Staff to keep track of their telephone conversations.

According to the disgruntled officers , the chief of staff's action "stinks of McCarthyism" and reflects "pressure on the part of the head of the army who feels under siege and is focusing on minor details."

Dan Halutz is no Moshe Dayan. He lost this war as much as anyone and he needs now to step aside.

Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, already under fire for his handling of the Lebanon war, is facing a possible probe over a Jerusalem property deal.Olmert and his wife are to be summoned for questioning over the deal by the government's top watchdog, the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday.

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