IDF troops were pawns in political spin
Former IDF chief of staff Moshe Yaalon had this to say about how the government handled the war with Hezbollah:
Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon continued his attack against the military and political echelons in the aftermath of the war in Lebanon and called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and current Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to resign.Yesterday, Udi Adam, one of the army commanders who oversaw the war resigned. If Olmert and Dan Halutz are smart, they'll do the same.
In an interview to Haaretz magazine, Yaalon slammed the decision to launch a ground operation, during which 33 soldiers were killed.
"This move was part of a (political) spin; it had no distinct military purpose," he said. "It was aimed at providing a sense of victory. You cannot act in such a way. You do not send soldiers to carry out a futile mission after the political results have already been determined. To me this is corrupt."
Asked specifically whether the soldiers died for the sake of a political spin, Yaalon said "Yes, and this is why people must resign. You do not need a commission of inquiry for this; those who made the decisions should take responsibility and step down."
"Olmert cannot say 'I didn?t know.' Even if he does not have military experience and never acted as defense minister, he knows how you go to war; this is not how it's done."
Labels: Lebanon
