Hundreds of reservists marched on the offices of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert at the end of August. They protested what they called the ineffective use of military force in conducting the month-long war on Lebanon, USA Today reported. The reservists set up a tent city there with signs calling for the resignation of Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, both of whom have little military experience, and the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz.

In a public letter sent to the soldiers August 24, Halutz admitted that the Israeli military operations involved “shortcomings in various areas—logistical, operational, and command…. Questions will be answered professionally, and everyone will be investigated—from me down to the last soldier.”

At the same time, the head of Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service, called the war “a fiasco.” According to the August 24 Boston Globe, Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin said at a closed security forum, “There were many failures, and the public sees and understands this…. Someone has to provide explanations and take responsibility.”

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists who served in the Spearhead Brigade in Lebanon signed a petition they sent to Peretz and Halutz that highlights some of their criticisms. “There was one thing we were not and would not be willing to accept: We were unwilling to accept indecisiveness,” it says. “The war’s aim, which was not defined clearly, was even changed in the course of the fighting.

“The indecisiveness manifested itself in inaction, in not carrying out operational plans, and in canceling all the missions we were given during the fighting….

“To us the indecisiveness expressed deep disrespect for our willingness to join the ranks and fight and made us feel as though we had been spat on, since it contradicts the principles and values of warfare upon which we were trained at the Israeli Defense Forces,” the petition states. “The blunders of the past six years and the underpreparation of the army have been carried on our backs—the backs of the fighters. In order to face the next battle prepared—and this may happen soon—a thorough and fundamental change must take place.”

In an August 23 editorial titled “Save the IDF,” the Israeli daily Haaretz urged the current government to speed up its withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories in order to retrain the military to fight large-scale wars.

“The army is not to blame for the fact that it has been dealing with ongoing security in the occupied territories for almost 40 years now,” Haaretz said. “Both the regular army and the reserve forces have essentially been serving for years as subcontractors of the Shin Bet security service and substitutes for the police. The army mans checkpoints, arrests wanted men, accompanies the Shin Bet during arrests and carries out assassinations—a host of activities that prevent it from training for large-scale operational activity against a professional and well-entrenched enemy.”

Preparations to meet such demands are already under way. According to an August 27 Haaretz article, “Defense officials are seeking NIS 30 billion [1 New Israeli Shekel = US 23 cents], mostly in fiscal 2007 and 2008, for resupplying, reacquiring weapons systems damaged during the war and preparing for the next war based on the lessons of recent hostilities, including developing new arms. The defense establishment is working under the assumption the Israel Defense Forces needs to be prepared quickly.”

A number of voices are pressing for the war to resume soon.

“If a nation in Israel’s fundamentally weak strategic situation has lost a war, it must win the next war convincingly and pretty soon,” John O’Sullivan, a contributor to the U.S. conservative magazine National Review, wrote in the August 22 issue. The protests by reservists mark “the beginning of a major shift in Israeli politics to a more realistic strategic and diplomatic posture,” he said. “The next war will be very different from the one that has just been interrupted.”

Meanwhile, steps are slowly being taken to deploy an international “peacekeeping” force under the United Nations banner. The French government increased its pledge of troops to that force from 200 to 2,000. The Italian government, which has agreed to commit 3,000 troops, is expected to command the force by February, replacing Paris, which is to take the lead at first.

The Israeli government claims that, until that force is deployed, it has the right to carry out military actions inside Lebanon. Tel Aviv has continued to maintain an air and naval blockade of the country since mid-July.
 
 
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