The outgoing commander of the naval commando sent a harsh letter to Israel Navy commander Major General David Ben-Bassat several months ago, in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Navy's top echelon during last summer's war in Lebanon.

Colonel N., who completed his term as commander of the naval commando last week, accused Ben-Bassat of limiting the naval commando's freedom in carrying out offensive operations. He also criticized Ben-Bassat's failure to investigate in depth the incident in which the Hezbollah fired an Iranian-made missile at Navy vessel "Hanit" off the coast of Lebanon, killing four and wounding dozens.

Highlights from N.'s letter were publicized Thursday on Israel's Channel Two news.

	Advertisement

In his letter, N. maintained that it would have been wise to make more frequent use of the naval commando during the war, even in highly dangerous operations, in light of the threat faced by the home front.

According to Channel Two, N. wrote that while his unit was eager to carry out operations in Lebanon, senior Navy officials hesitated, the Hanit incident still fresh in their minds. N. maintained that this hesitation cost the Navy essential operations.

N. also mentioned the complacency with which the Navy's elite regarded the mission on which the Hanit had embarked. He also wrote about the simplistic way that the post-war investigations into the Navy's conduct had been carried out, and the way those investigations intentionally circumvented the major faults and failures.

In addition to Ben-Bassat, N. also addressed his harsh letter to former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz. The letter was sent before Halutz resigned from his post, and was still the chief of staff. Ben-Bassat was apparently extremely hurt that N. had seen fit to circulate his criticism outside the Navy.

N. excelled while commanding the naval commando, and is considered one of the IDF's most valuable commanders in recent years. However, N. is also considered within the IDF to be an outspoken and direct man who often got into altercations with his superiors for expressing unpopular opinions or notions that did not fit with the IDF's official stance.

Ben-Bassat had earlier faced much criticism within the IDF when he decided not to resign following the Hanit tragedy. Several major generals felt that he should have taken responsibility for the debacle and stepped down.

An IDF spokesperson issued a response to N.'s letter saying "the Navy commander encourages his soldiers to express their opinions and promotes free thought." The spokesperson added that the excerpts from the letter that aired on Channel Two are not entirely accurate.