Outgoing infantry chief says military 'guilty of arrogance'
Hyman is first senior officer to concede degree of failure in war; committee meets to investigate war's conduct.
By Amos Harel and Haaretz CorrespondentThe outgoing Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer of the Israel Defense Forces, Brigadier General Yossi Hyman, on Sunday became the first senior officer to concede a degree of failure in the Lebanon war.
"We were guilty of the sin of arrogance," Hyman said at the changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the Kastina base, where he was replaced by Brigadier General Yossi Bachar.
Also Sunday, the Lipkin-Shahak Committee, appointed to investigate the conduct of the war, convened for the first time.
Hyman said that "despite heroic fighting by the soldiers and commanders, especially at the company and battalion level, we all feel a certain sense of failure and missed opportunity ... At times, we were guilty of the sin of arrogance. Everyone tells about his mission, but not what he didn't do and where he went wrong."
He added: "I feel the weighty responsibility on my shoulders. I failed to prepare the infantry better for war. I did not manage to prevent burnout among professional companies and platoons. I feel no relief whatsoever in the face of the array of excuses ... At this time, it is not easy being part of the system. Part of the public, and perhaps also parts of the leadership, is expressing lack of faith in us."
Hyman has always been considered an officer who never hesitates to express his opinion vociferously, a fact that frequently aroused the ire of the military establishment. At Sunday's ceremony, too, IDF Ground Forces Commander Benny Gantz said that now is the time for the army to move forward, not express remorse.
The Lipkin-Shahak Committee held a preparatory session Sunday, at which Major General (reserves) Herzl Bodinger requested to be relieved of his duties as a committee member, for personal reasons. He was replaced by Major General (reserves) Giora Rom, likewise an air force man. Rom, a combat pilot, headed the Israel Air Force's general staff and served as Israel's military attache in Washington and director general of the Jewish Agency.
The committee is expected to accept the army's position that all testimony should fall under the confidentiality article of the Military Justice Law.
For a Haaretz Q&A with Yossi Hyman click here.
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the defending side is always more brave and willing to die for the cause of defending, whereas the attackers some of them dont even know what they are fighting for and the objective is very unclear. i hate to see war between anyone. but i am sure if idf take the role of a defender, defending their family, israel is a untouchable fortress. the 6 days war is a good example. the idf failed their objectives but never lost the war. they are brave men volunteers etc. hezbollah are equally brave. Peace to everyone. I am a soldier and i know its important to follow every single instruction without questioning. but sometimes u cant help it when ur superior wants you to shoot unarmed civilians. Good and evil is everywhere. There's good lebonese, bad lebonese, good american, bad american, good muslim, bad muslim, good israeli, bad israeli. now its not a war between races/religion/nation. its a war between good and evil. figure out the agenda behind all dis and stop it. the Good will truimph
If it is not a sin for America to supply billions of money and hitech weapons to Israel to murder its neigbours, why is it a sin for Iran and Syria to supply just a few millions of money and inferior weapons for Israeli's neigbours to protect themselves? The new world order is b--ls--t, it places a premise that only a few should hold all the weapons in the world and the rest should sit unprotected like lame ducks waiting to be killed. America and Israel have proved that no nation can claim to be better in managing WMDs because they have used WMDs in so many occasions
If Israel was stupid enough to prolong the war to an extent of allowing Syria and Iran to join Hizbollah, we might have seen for the first time Arabian forces right in the streets of Tel-Aviv. Israelis, wake up from your slumber, now this is the time to make peace. Do not be cheated by the Americans who have ben losing all their wars. Remember, winning a war is more than just inflicting the biggest destruction to your enemies. The best military equipment are only good in destructing life and property, but they cannot win wars from determined human beings deprived of their rights.
Finally an honest general.He admit the failure of himself and all the commander in chief,in preparing strategy and conducing tactics of fight in battlefield.Now You must investigate who was handling money for supplying modern weapons for IDF and how many buildings he bought for himself instead of really anti-bullet jackets, night infrared visors similar to that used by hezbollah for shooting soldiers in darkness,modern portable GPS to coordinate attack by platoons,micro digitalcameras connected with command center and so on in new innovative equipments ...You are expected to do a hard work...Good Luck
Acc. the the Eccl.: "arrogance goes before the fall". This is a human trait ... it must have been unbearable to the soldiers on the line of duty to act against their consciences; they became murderers. Arrogance obviously is what kept them going. Personally I appreciate Hyman's integrity and humility to admit this phenomenon among the Israeli soldiers. A lesson learned may lead to an improvement. Acc. to the Eccl.: "humility goes before honour"....also a human trait. I hope that in Hyman the Israeli army will find an example to follow.
As much as i hate the IDF i think that there no fools. They knew that Hezbollah are tucked in underground and the massive IAF campaign wouldnt hurt Hzbollah to a large degree. But something needed to be done to feed the hunger of zionist by killing children and women, they destryed a country knowing well the hezbollah wouldnt suffer major damage. Haaaa what this accomplished in the other hand, it prevented the shiites muslims in the country from economic and social growth....thats key for the future because they(hezbollah) could have achieved milestones. HOWEVER, isreal was wrong, hezbollah is in the hearts of libanese people all of them, except the ones that are on the mossad and cia payrolls !!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
I wold like to add a few words to yossis statment..WAR CRIMES..COWERDNESS..FAILURE..
I would greatly prefer to be defended by soldiers who genuinely fear death in battle than to be held hostage by the hordes of suicidal terrorist thugs so hell-bent on self destruction that they hide behind their own wives' skirts (oops! chadors!) and children while droolingly fantasizing about Israel's eventual destruction, this pathetic tool of Iran so-called party of G-d which you most certainly revere...
The Israeli PM, DM, and COS decided not to fight a war but to bomb and shell Hizbollar into submission. A mistake. It should have breached holes in Hizbollar defence lines and quickly pushed to the Litani River. Once there it could have destroyed the enemies rocket batteries that fired some 4,000 missiles into northern Israel. If required it could have pushed further into Lebanon. This would have resulted in a quick victory. One should not make war if one is not willing to fight it. Israel now looks weak in the face of inferior forces it faced in Lebanon. it could have destroyed the rocket batteries that fired 4000 missles into northern Israel.
Israel lost because their soldiers are afraid to die in battle? I suppose Arabs aren't? Please...the only Arabs unafraid to die in battle are uneducated, desperate young Arab men (teenagers) who've been brainwashed by their religious leaders (kind of like the US Government). The sooner religion is left in churches, mosques and synagogs the better off we'll ALL be.
Gus are u bi or can u swing? I'm happy to play second fiddle to sophia if you choose her, but I'd much rather have you all to myself. Mousa ibn Fouad
Gus, you are right on target. Our "village idiot" president, who acquired power thru a stolen election (read: Coup d'etat), IS using Israel. Unfortunately, Israel covets American $$$ and is willing to bed with this moron-in-a-suit.
Hi DB, don't waste your breath answering "Amir MOFOZ" He is an arab from Hebron masquerading as an israeli. He doesn't know how I know, but I've posted him a suitable reply..... Good luck. Don't be scared to reply to others!! :)
You sound like you've bought your local media's interpretation of events. I have some nice ocean beachfront property I'd like to sell you located in Austria.
Gus, there are some who would say you have it backwards. It is not Israel who is making unsecured loans in the billions every year, they are on the recieving end. It is not Israel who took on Iraq for America's sake, it is the the other way around. If the truth were known, we would probably find that both America and Israel are being used by the Rothchilds or some other ultra-elite for their own personal gain (as in arming both sides in a conflict - not the first time).
Intuk mamzer bin kulb, ibn tlataash kulb.
Maybe Israel's non-victory is karmic retribution for trying to sell missle technology to the Chinese. I used to be an ardent supporter of Israel until I found out that they're willing to sell anything to anybody...including enemies of my country. Some friend Israel is.
The answer is 4., and I suspect many more. General Yossi Hyman does not surprise me with his statements. All of what he said was quite apparent as the war progressed. The Jerusalem Post has an article about reservists protesting the conduct of the war. It contains this telling quote: "The problem," he said, "is that there's no leadership. There's a strong army, with all the best technology in the world, with the bravest soldiers in the world?but there's no one who knows how to operate it." - Roni Tzangenbolm The incompetence at the top went farther down than Dan Halutz. Something is very rotten at the top of the IDF. Israel cannot afford the kind of incompetent civilian and military leadership it is suffering today.
Sit down, mate, i'm not taking the mickey. I would agree that Israel will need to negotiate for a longer term settlement just like it has done with Egypt and Jordan. Unfortunately, lebanon is still technically at war with Israel (since 1949) and syria is making unintelligble noises at the moment.There will be a Palestinian state. Painful concessions will be required on both sides as u say. However, you begin to show your parochialism again when you say for 58 years Israelis have endured misery and death etc. Very poetic, but hardly accurate. Or is it based on some time u spent in the country? Or perhaps even a subscription over the years to one of Israel's eng lang papers? Don't tell me: some of your best friends are Jewish.... :) I can hardly see israel surrendering (very precious) water sources, but land for peace is a goer. What is also a goer is your less arrogant stance in your recent posts. I hear what u say in para 2. There's hope yet.
It is perhaps a divine message that Sharon, who was previously a symbol of Israel's arrogance and butchery, is now rotting away, crippled and impotent. Is this the shape of things to come for the paper tiger that is the IDF?
It is perhaps a divine message that Sharon, who was previously a symbol of Israel's arrogance and butchery, is now rotting away, crippled and impotent. Is this the shape of things to come for the paper tiger that is the IDF?
This is what I call supreme arrogance & eventually you realise it when it is far too late & you start crying wolf.
What you did not understand ,that the next time there will be no Lebanon or Syria or whoever left ;And it is not arrogance of military that was said to be,it was arroogance of ruling elite,that are degradable personalities, that time for them has come .It is time for completely new people doctrenes and warfare, that do not involve arrogance , but pure britality ,extermination of enemy by all means,and thus achievement of peace,as an objective and as opposite to the carricature peace activism that is pseudo-mazochism, involving introducing terror organization such as PLO to a rule of law--what a stupidity--very similar to Hezbolla , except Hezbolla has other minorities to contend with , and they will have still their day in"court",where they will need to cover the result of war to other segments of societ ,and their 12000 $ or so scam,isn`t going to fly for much longer ,since the money trail established was already cut-they will run out of their money sooner than later..
1) IDF's failure is Hzb's success 2) shattered image, confidence & deterrence of IDF 3) Hzb proved that asymmetric war is winnable by small groups against large armies 4) First sustained missile attack on Israeli cities by Arab side (balance of terror) 5) Ability to sink 3 naval craft severely damages Israel's naval superiority / confidence 6) demonstrated Israel's intelligence failures 7) Provides a model of success to other groups & populations in the region 8) 750,000 Israelis in bomb shelters 9) Economic losses to Israel: - Damaged the market for Merkava - Damaged tourism 10) Hzb still hold Israeli soldiers 11) Israel forced to accept that the Sheba'a farms are on the agenda for negotiation The most important thing, though, is that Hzb made sure that the war was not a picnic for the IDF.
Yes, there is NOTHING wrong with being afraid to die in battle. Only a mentally deranged person is unafraid of dying at a young age. Or someone who is brainwashed into believing in martyrdom. So which do you prefer? Mentally deranged, brainwashed, or normal human being?
Israel has believed for nearly 60 years that military strength is the key to peace. For 60 years its people have endured misery and tension and death. Surely - surely - they must now see that this policy is a blind alley, one that can NEVER lead to peace? The answer is the same one that it has always been - to sit down in a spirit of open-mindedness, vision and goodwill to see how it can reach an accommodation with its neighbours. This will necessitate painful concessions, ones that so far its arrogance has refused to permit, but necessary concessions nonetheless. It will require Israel to surrender large areas of occuppied territory, and water resources it would rather keep, but this is required for peace. It must be prepared to listen for once to what its perceived enenemies are saying and asking for.
When will Israel face facts: 1)Their soldiers run away when engaged by the enemy 2)They prefer shooting at unarmed Palistinians 3)They are paralyzed with fear of dying in battle 4)They lost because they aren't brave 5)Without Air Superiority it would be MUCH worse
The Americans are holding Israel by the throat and they can strangle it at any time. Israel has no independence and they must be the obedient servants of America. America will keep using Israelis in this way until they have no more need for them, at which point they will spit them out like dirty chewed tobacco. The trouble with entering into a pact with the devil is that it feels good at first, but you eventually pay a very heavy price.
for those 1400 who died on both sides for the ecological catastroph on both sides for the 5600 injured for the 17600 lost housing units for the 18 billion USD lost immediatly... for all this and other cost we only got that isreal is realising only one sin : arrogance how much it will take to realise that isreal is plagued by another sin: greed ?
We cannot say that Israel "won" when we suffered a tragically large number of pointless soldier deaths. At least some army generals here are prepared to admit responsibility. It is right that there should be a public enquiry and it is right that criticism should come from within Israel. Our military was certainly guilty of arrogance.
Israel is truly lucky its military leaders can admit mitakes. If Israel really is a strong ally of the US, can you send over these guys to have a talk with Rummy and Cheney about reality?
Congratulations Gus!!! You Nailed It!. Israel Need just Peace.In this specific case, the military operation was not the correct answer. but a valid answer, in this days if we choose this answer, we got to be sure to win, defeating Israel's enemy.... I stay with the Rabin's Dream of Peace. I hope Olmert, Halutz, and all the other "Quit" as Honorable Loosers.
Hezbollah fights intelligently and fearlesly. They attac strategically and defend tactically. When this is combined with Israels total intelligence failure and leadership mistakes Hezbollah victory is clear. Good thing in all this is that Hezbollah can not seriously damage Israel. This gives IDF time to learn from its mistakes if its willing to. This should be time of deep analysis and rethinking in all levels. No army in history has won determined CI-warfare, where population is behind the querillas, without doing full scale genocide or death patrols walking door to door. Shiites may already be majority in Lebanon and their population is increasing rabidly. Hezbollah is the real ruler in Lebanon. Shiites are as committed to Hezbollah as Israelis are for IDF. This must be taken into account.
right on
The one thing good that came out of this war is that finally Israelis realised that they are all full blown arrogants & that is how they have run their country, the region & their lives. As a direct result of this war & with a bit of humility & acceptance of other peoples' rights is the greatest chance to start peace negotiotions with Lebanon, PO & Syria.
That's a trap question, isn't it? ;)
Politic? Army staff? or both? We don't change a win team... Otherwise, may be you cut the rotten branch Don't wait, take decision sap
You are absolutely right. Totally right. Sharon is since decennia the core of Israel's problems and ... defeats and failures(!).
Israel has appointed commissions of inquiry to investigate failures. The public are also calling for the heads of the PM, DM and Chief of Staff. In contrast, the Lebanese have expressed nothing but admiration for the hizbullah leadership and the efficiency and bravery with which they fought. This is in spite of limited means and total devastation of civillian areas. I think the issue of winners and losers is fairly clear.
It's not just the military. It's the whole country.
the present problems. His cult is alike the cult of Stalin or Kim-Il-Jong ,a sign of an unhealthy society.
:)
Only people can feel remorse. An army is an organization. It should be examining the lacunae of its supply lines, its equipment, etc. and the lackadaisical complacency of its highest echelons, looking to implement reform as quickly as it can. It allows its attention to be diverted from these urgent tasks at its peril. Olmert should be feeling remorse.
We cannot blame it on Arafat any more,he has been dead for a while, we cannot blame it on Sharon anymore he has been half dead for a while, we can blame it on Hezbullah but it willnot help. Can't you see guys, Israel need a peace maker. This war was a big Mistake, bigger then you can imagine but continuing with the mistake will be catestrophic, take the streets, insist on Olmer and difinitly that stupid defence mimister to go and elect someone with a brain and someone who will not say yes to Bush. Bush used you and he will abuse you if he can. He does not care about you, he care about oil and big companies and I suspect that he will betray you soon if you do not accept his next evil plan. Do not go with it, it will be the end of everyone in the ME if you follow him to Iran's mission. Do not do it. He will be gone in two years but you need to live there forever, so make peace.
Back here in the U.S., where anything less than full-throated support of every single thing Israel ever does is seen as either anti-Semitic or self-hating (depending), George W. Bush told us that Israel won. Do you mean to tell us that our president is a stupid liar? Wait -- don't answer that.
At last the top brass have admitted it. And now.. OLMERT PERETZ and HALUTZ please stand up.
It iime for Israelis to understand who Sharon was.
IDF conduct the like not a regular Army, I think they didn't know even that Hez is attaking. It take for them 2 hours to realize the situation, then they just rush into Lebanon with the Merkava, again without any precaution; 2 deads with 1 Merkava on fire etc... Clearly IDF as best army is the past, fact that no one could believe now but slowly it will be clear. I think the next fight maybe they will not be able to defend Tel-Aviv. Watchout Negga, Iran is in the area with a real Gs.
Sharon is not the first top soldier who became a mediocre political person. Notiv=ce, I don't say leader. He Knew OF THE HITZBOLLAH BUILDUP & IT'S DANGER, HE knew THE IDF'S shortcomings, he opted to become Bush's poodle. Israeli voters wanted the lies: they didn't want BiBi's truthful talk. OK. They got what they wanted. Olmert, Peretz, Halutz. I'm getting nauseous.
bloodthirst... etc. The list of sins is long. The list of fallen is long: http://www.israel-chronicles.org/fallenLebanon2006.html Who should pay for the long list of sins that led to such a long list of fallen? 1. Olmert 2. Peretz 3. Halutz 4. All of the above