Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., December 20, 2008 Kislev 23, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:51 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 00:00 30/01/2008
ANALYSIS: IDF has already learned lessons of Second Lebanon War
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, Winograd, Lebanon War 

The Israel Defense Forces did not exactly wait trembling for the conclusive Winograd war probe report. This is mainly due to the fact that senior members of the establishment have already taken responsibility for their actions and quit the army a number of months after the war.

It should be recalled that the IDF already referred to the subject with the publication of the report into the Second Lebanon War by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss. The army continues to stick to the line that it is learning the lessons of the war, and is doing all it can to correct mistakes it made.

Nevertheless, this is a long process which includes institutional and outlook changes, establishing a training program and more.
Advertisement
The principal goal of this program is to ensure that in every future conflict, the IDF will achieve a different result to that which it reached in the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah in 2006. At present it can be said that a substantial part of the areas requiring improvement have already been taken care of, and some have already been implemented in the field, and other areas are in the course of being assimilated in work plans.

The IDF did not wait for the report and immediately after the war, under the instruction of former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz, initiated a thorough and fundamental process of investigation and lesson-learning-including all issues and at all levels. These probes were executed by over 70 different teams, which were made up of experts, senior and junior officers, as well as reservists with a wealth of experience.

As a lesson from the Second Lebanon War, the IDF's operational perception has been updated, and today there is an emphasis on integrating the different corps in training and warfare, and strengthening ground forces' maneuvering ability. This outlook has even been tried out and assimilated within the framework of recent training operations.

A central conclusion made by the investigation process related to the area of training, and the need for the frequent training of regular and reservist ground forces. It should be stressed that also with regard to this subject the IDF has not waited for the final Winograd committee report, and has executed wide-ranging training exercises since the war.

As part of the accelerated process of increasing its readiness and fitness, the IDF has prepared a comprehensive training program for combat units, including an extensive one for the reserves. As such, there has been a 200 percent increase in the number of regular brigade-level training exercises in the IDF Northern Command as opposed to in 2006, and a 200 percent hike in the number of reservist brigade-level training exercises at the IDF center for ground forces training at Tze'ilim since 2006, in addition to an 80 percent increase in all ground forces training exercises since 2006.

Furthermore, Current Chief Of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi approved last year the "Tefen" multi-year and multi-dimensional procurement program to implement lessons learnt in the war, while at the same time preparing for future strategic threats and challenges, based on an analysis of the different zones of combat. The budget for the multi-year program stands at NIS 250 billion.



Related articles:
  • PMO: War report backs decision to launch final IDF ground op
  • PM's camp pressures Labor to stay in coalition post-Winograd
  • War probe said to fault execution of final IDF ground offensive
  • The partial Winograd report of April 2007
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Bride and prejudice
    Head of Palestinian clan offers Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist his daughter and a dowry.
    Unconventional war
    U.S. report: Hezbollah guerillas fought Israel better than any Arab army.
      1.   IDF didn`t learn anything 18:37  |  Analysis2 30/01/08
      2.   "IDF has already learnt lessons of Second Lebanon War." Really? 18:39  |  bat yam 30/01/08
      3.   How about a Winograd Repot to Create Peace 19:04  |  Markus 30/01/08
      4.   ...I DOUBT IT !! (Trust me) 19:10  |  C.H. Armutta 30/01/08
      5.   I am sure they have! 19:27  |  Nabulsi 30/01/08
      6.   SO RIGHT.!!!WE KNOW WHAT TO DO .. 19:33  |  Lebanoni Armsdeal 30/01/08
      7.   Who will die for Israel 20:44  |  Ahmed 30/01/08
      8.   To Markus 21:04  |  Johnathan 30/01/08
      9.   Those who know do not speak. Those who speak 21:10  |  Stephen in New York 30/01/08
      10.   To #7 21:33  |  Oleg 30/01/08
      11.   The rot in Israeli society 22:22  |  Clickfool 30/01/08
      12.   To Jonathan 22:27  |  Markus 30/01/08
      13.   To # 19 22:53  |  Ahmed 30/01/08
      14.   Winograd will never reveal what did goes on in that war 00:05  |  e.m.Jordan is Palest 31/01/08
      15.   Winograd will never reveal what did goes on in that war 00:05  |  e.m.Jordan is Palest 31/01/08
      16.   To #13 00:15  |  Oleg 31/01/08
      17.   To #13 Unfinshed Business 00:22  |  Oleg 31/01/08
      18.   Clickfool, military genius 00:31  |  Stephen in New York 31/01/08
      19.   To clickfool #11 00:36  |  Lenny 31/01/08
      20.   Military lessons ! 00:40  |  Truths 31/01/08
      21.   CFOOL.re Rot in society"Chop his head off like a pig".Moslem Brit 01:07  |  PETER SM 31/01/08
      22.   Will Israel learn the most important lesson from Winograd report? 01:21  |  Pablo B 31/01/08
      23.   #3 Marcus, you are mixed up,Army is not 01:25  |  TOMY 31/01/08
      24.   IDF may have draw lessons but not the Left 01:26  |  Frank 31/01/08
      25.   11 Clickfool 02:17  |  leo 31/01/08
      26.   how on earth do we fight wars these days?... 02:27  |  Joey 31/01/08
      27.   Hezbollah - Winning by Losing 02:38  |  Reid 31/01/08
      28.   #11 Lots of Rot in the UK 02:54  |  * BEN JABO 31/01/08
      29.   Hey Oleg re #7 Ahmed 03:26  |  Barry 31/01/08
      30.   #15 Thank You Ben Jabo for the BEST post ever! 03:32  |  Barry 31/01/08
      31.   TRUTHS YOU attacked Israel.!! 04:42  |  PETER SM 31/01/08
      32.   Winograd didn`t make the grad[e] 13:08  |  eddie - Haifa 31/01/08
      33.   #3 Marcus. Great Thinking 4 Peace. I back U. 15:27  |  Josua 31/01/08
      34.   #8Jonathan, just think about this..... 15:43  |  Harry 31/01/08
      35.   I thought the IDF won a great victory over Hesballa 18:07  |  igco 31/01/08
      36.   7# to cousin ahmed 18:54  |  A POOR IDIOT 31/01/08
      37.   let`s mull over a bit more ab. meanings of 00:27  |  bozhidar balkas 01/02/08
      38.   IDF should retaliate "DISPROPORTIONATELY". Then Yew-Haters 05:47  |  Vittorio 01/02/08
      39.   Thank you 26 06:48  |  Tyrone 01/02/08
      40.   We`re all guilty 13:06  |  Eli 01/02/08
      41.   Spinograd 16:08  |  Joseph . E 01/02/08
      42.   The Winograd Report & The May 15th Prophecy 20:22  |  Leon 01/02/08
      43.   Just shuffling the chairs on the Titanic (nt) 02:38  |  David King 02/02/08
      44.   Hezbollah learned too 08:13  |  Lee 02/02/08
      45.   learning 20:30  |  Paul 02/02/08
      46.   #44 Lee - VA 18:11  |  * BEN JABO 03/02/08
      47.   To Lee re the "weeny" Israeli soldiers 01:45  |  Lee (the real one) 20/12/08
     Read & React
    Ben-Eliezer: IDF will use all its power to end Gaza Qassam fire
    Responses: 153
    Daniel Levy: Gaza likely to turn into Somalia if Israel continues siege
    Responses: 17
    U.S. report: Hezbollah fought Israel better than any Arab army
    Responses: 69
    Shady land deal unfolds from West Bank to California strip mall
    Responses: 32
    Immigrant IAF pilot fights to be recognized as a Jew
    Responses: 16


    More Headlines
    00:08 Rice: Renewed Gaza violence will not help Palestinian cause
    07:08 ANALYSIS / Barak's restraint in Gaza is a huge elections gamble
    19:12 Thousands of Hezbollah supporters protest Gaza siege
    14:58 'Russian arms sales could help Iran obliterate Israel'
    22:49 Will Obama press Israel to allow nuclear inspection of Dimona reactor?
    20:51 Head of Palestinian clan offers Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist a bride
    01:03 Bush: Mideast peace talks have yielded progres
    20:29 Want to help improve the Haaretz.com homepage?
    20:48 15 activists sail from Cyprus to Gaza in effort to break siege
    14:33 Rare first century half shekel coin found in Temple Mount dirt
    23:47 Is Russian-Israeli tycoon Arcadi Gaydamak leaving Israel for good?
    09:36 U.S. report: Hezbollah fought Israel better than any Arab army
    15:07 Three injured as light plane crashes off Haifa coast
    15:48 Katsav complainant confronts former president over rape accusation
    09:14 Israeli UN envoy decries Hamas play mocking Gilad Shalit
    04:52 ANALYSIS / Lessons of Madoff scam: invest with more wisdom
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    Summer Camp in Israel
    The best place for your children this summer
    Living in Israel Studying in English
    Click & Meet our students from all around the world
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved