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Last update - 10:36 01/02/2008 An army run like a jungle By Amos Harel Tags: Amir Peretz, IDF  "I don't see how the army is going to get me the victory I need," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sighed at a nighttime discussion on the 11th day of the war in Lebanon. Ten days later, then-defense minister Amir Peretz made a similar complaint to the senior officers. "It's infuriating - we're circling (the village of) Aita al-Shaab for the third time already." The Winograd Committee's final report is full of quotes like this. The committee shares the politicians' amazement as it describes the many failures it found in the army's functioning before and during the war. It identifies a "harsh and gloomy picture" in the Israel Defense Forces. The army, particularly the ground forces, "for the most part did not succeed in fulfilling their principal missions." The IDF thus contributed to the feeling of "disappointment and missed opportunities among the public." During the war it was clear the army was not delivering the goods the political leaders expected. But there was no room for Olmert and Peretz to be surprised. During their visit to the General Staff forum on July 11, 2006, on the eve of the kidnapping of the two soldiers, Major General Yishai Bar warned them that "the IDF is a mediocre army. There are still small islands of excellence left, but these islands are surrounded by a large sea of mediocrity." The two did not react directly. (And then-chief of staff Dan Halutz reassured them that "the missions will be carried out extremely well.") Advertisement The final report gives the politicians exaggerated and unjustified exemption from responsibility - the politicians who decided to embark on the war and made the important decisions during it. But this should not exempt the army from the radical reforms it needs to undertake in the wake of the findings. Particularly in light of Olmert/Peretz's blatant inexperience on security matters, the IDF should have functioned better during the campaign. "We disappointed him," admitted three General Staff generals this week when asked about the army's relationship with the prime minister during the war. "A large part of the blame is ours." The Winograd Committee describes the disappointment in detail. The military failure cuts across ranks, time periods, commands, branches and units, from the General Staff (in particular) to the brigade level (on occasion). Only the air force is a nature reserve. All the rest is run like a jungle, almost. Here is a selection of parts of the report: The IDF behaved in Lebanon as though on a mission of "intensive ongoing security" rather than a war. Its operational concept in the war did not suit the challenges it faced. Basic values such as staying the course "unraveled" and were covered up with wordy explanations. The losses absorbed by the forces had an exceptionally bad effect on it. Three of the four divisions that participated in the fighting did not fulfill their missions at all. One of them had not trained properly for five years. In another, an elite division, a low fitness level was identified half a year before the war's outbreak. Two battles, Bint Jbail and the final ground operation ("Change of Direction 11") are described in relative detail and presented as colossal failures. The taxpayer is also allowed to feel disappointed. For years a huge portion of the state budget has been allocated to defense, at the expense of education, science, health and welfare. The best manpower is placed at the army's disposal for three years. Almost nobody questions this because the risks in our region are clear to everyone. In exchange, the citizen expects outstanding, almost perfect security; an army that will remind us of the brilliance of Operation Entebbe or the attack on the Arab air forces at the beginning of the Six-Day War. Over the years we have become accustomed to lowering our expectations, however the severity of the failure in Lebanon will have long-term effects on the IDF's status in the eyes of Israeli society. Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who has been serving in his position for almost a year, is the man expected to halt the downtrend. In light of the criticism in the report, Ashkenazi's policy has been to explain that the flaws have been repaired since the war, and that most of the military leadership has been replaced. As we know, the soldiers have gone back to training in full force. But the committee says that far greater change is necessary than has been implemented, and hints at its fear that some of the lessons learned were mistaken. Since the General Staff is unwilling to present the issues for a thorough public discussion, it is hard to know whether the committee is right. On one point it is impossible to argue with the Winograd Committee: The State of Israel cannot permit itself over the long run to have an army on the low professional level displayed in the war and reflected by the report. Bookmark to del.icio.us   'British Oskar Schindler' Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 Jewish children during the Holocaust, is up for the Nobel. Pride of Israel Tennis: Shahar Peer beats Russia's Dinara Safina to give Israel 1-0 lead in the Fed Cup.   1.   Are we ready for a change ? 11:28  |  Harold Lane 01/02/08   2.   it?s an opportunity to make peace 12:17  |  WRONG 01/02/08   3.   Don`t feel bad. 75% of everything in the world is mediocre 12:21  |  Natallie Durson 01/02/08   4.   Faulty conceptions to blame 12:29  |  Taxpayer 01/02/08   5.   Feeling threatened? Call the lawyers who run the army and 12:36  |  Absolute Sweden 01/02/08   6.   "failure cuts across ranks" 12:50  |  flimflam 01/02/08   7.   Its not how you play the game... 13:03  |  Jeff 01/02/08   8.   prime minister 13:17  |  caroline 01/02/08   9.   make peace not war 13:24  |  pal 01/02/08   10.   5. fear of "war crime prosecution" ? 13:24  |  whoopsie 01/02/08   11.   Or a Prime Minister who is No Better..... 13:35  |  Dolly 01/02/08   12.   The bottom line is..... 13:50  |  Esther 01/02/08   13.   no- israel cannot afford such a rich army 14:01  |  small fried 01/02/08   14.   wath about stupids political leaders,thinking only in theirs ass 14:39  |  The stupid ant 01/02/08   15.   Israel never had a good army. And will never have. Does it need? 14:48  |  Philip 01/02/08   16.   hahahahahahaha 15:13  |  leonidas 01/02/08   17.   It is not the Army 15:18  |  Mark Lincoln 01/02/08   18.   The question is 15:27  |  Ivor Dudd 01/02/08   19.   without churchill would britain have recovered from dunkirk? 17:03  |  v hardman 01/02/08   20.   The Victory that Olmert Needed 17:33  |  Tzfonit 01/02/08   21.   The IDF is the Shin Bet`s Police Force 17:55  |  Meir 01/02/08   22.   Its the occupation!!! 18:20  |  Danite 01/02/08   23.   Army/Jungle 18:23  |  G Morgenstern 01/02/08   24.   The moment has come for a professional non compulsory army 18:33  |  Army MD 01/02/08   25.   to Durson #3: your reasoning is in the 75% mediocrity at best 18:37  |  Alain 01/02/08   26.   Just get out of the West Bank and the problem is solved 19:35  |  Chanalau, Tova 01/02/08   27.   It was not a war 19:37  |  Marilyn 01/02/08   28.   Cover-up 21:56  |  dave 01/02/08   29.   Don`t despair Israel 22:19  |  maoriboy 01/02/08   30.   #12 Esther. Occupying our land doesn`t make the I.D.F. an "occupa 03:59  |  Chaim 02/02/08   31.   How much war can Israel afford? 16:20  |  spyguy 02/02/08   32.   How much time left for Israel ...#31 21:04  |  John 02/02/08   33.   SOKUTION! Conscript the haredim 21:38  |  D Hirod 02/02/08   34.   John #32 continues the delusion 01:30  |  spyguy 03/02/08   35.   That`s what armies of occupation are, guys... 05:34  |  Johnboy 03/02/08

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