Last update - 00:00 09/10/2007
IDF attorneys: War probe panel must warn those named in report
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel Defense Forces attorneys sent a letter Tuesday to the committee of inquiry into the conduct of the Second Lebanon War, demanding that it clarify within a week whether it will issue warning letters to officers who may be censured in its final report.
If the Winograd Committee goes back on its promise to the High Court to send warning letters to the officers, the IDF attorneys will again petition the court against such a move.
The letter was sent following a wave of media reports citing panel members which said that the committee is planning to release the final report at the end of December with out making individual recommendations.
The committee contends that if the final report only has general and systematic recommendations, and not personal ones, there is no reason to send out warning letters that would delay the release of the report.
In the letter, the IDF attorneys remind the committee that it promised the High Court that it would issue warning letters to whom ever may be hurt from the report's findings.
The attorneys say that 40 days have passed since this promise was made, which is more than enough time to estimate who may be mentioned in the final report. They claim that since general negative findings on the performance of the Northern and Home Front Commands could still adversely affect certain senior officers - even if their names are not mentioned - the panel must issue warnings in order to allow the officers to plead their case before the report is released.
In response to the attorneys demands, Likud MK Yuval Steinitz called on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to "take control of the IDF and not allow the defense attorneys to petition the committee."
"Barak must put an end to his absurd situation in which the IDF is using the courts to confront a committee that the government appointed," Steinitz said.
Meanwhile, The Movement for Quality Government and the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel each addressed the Winograd panel Tuesday, demanding that they revoke their decision not to release personal recommendations in their final report. Both groups intend, along with other organizations, to submit petitions to the High Court if the panel confirms media reports that they do not plan to name names.
"The state and army are made up of people," said attorney Itzhak Bam of the Legal Forum. "People make decisions, people make mistakes. The committee was established in order to investigate their decisions and their performance. This investigation cannot be carried out fully if you do not reach conclusions regarding the performance of those who were in charge."
The Movement for Quality Government said in their letter that the panel's decision not to make personal recommendations is "extremely unreasonable and against the mandate given to the committee.
"It seriously damages the public's trust and therefore the committee must revoke its decision. The broad authority given to the Winograd Committee was supposed to calm the frustration, anger and disappointment that the public felt after the war."
Peretz: Going to war was the right decision
Also Tuesday, former defense minister Amir Peretz criticized the comptroller's report on the state of the home front during the conflict, which stated that the decision to go to war was made in haste.
Peretz told the Knesset State Control Committee that if Israel had not gone to war immediately after the kidnapping of the soldiers the situation would have been much worse.
"Everyone is smarter in retrospect and act according to the mood of the country", Peretz said.