Lebanon war was a failure, Barak says

Source: Al-Manar, 20-4-2007
"Israeli" occupation former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that last summer`s war with Hizbullah was a failure, adding that `"Israel"` needed experienced leaders to guide it through times of crisis.
"When the dust settles over the conclusions of the Winograd Commission and the testimonies, one lesson will be drawn: In the state of `Israel` there no substitute to experience," he said in reference to the commission probing the war`s handling.
Speaking in Haifa at a ceremony commemorating killed soldiers, Barak added that despite the "Israeli" army`s poor performance against Hizbullah, `"Israel"` remained the strongest country in the region - "from Libya to Iran."
Aides to Defense Minister Peretz harshly slammed Barak in response to the claim that the war was a failure.
"The man is simply shameless. The man who took the IDF out of Lebanon in a unilateral flight and without an agreement or an international force, and left Hizbullah to become stronger on the fence opposite Metula and opposite Shlomi, is the one responsible for the policy of turning a blind eye," a Peretz associate said.
The former prime minister added that the war left `"Israel"` in a leadership crisis and only an experienced leader could restore the country`s confidence in its leaders and army.
Speaking to "Israeli" daily Ynet, an enraged Peretz fired back that, "Barak, with all the experience he has, has experience in fleeing too - like his escape from Lebanon (in the first war in Lebanon)."
"I didn`t see his experience prevent him from employing a policy of turning a blind eye in Lebanon. This practice, which started in Ehud Barak`s days, is what led to us wake up one day to the reality of an armed Hizbullah sitting on `Israel`s` doorstep in tunnels they had been digging for years."
Peretz criticized Barak`s unilateral policies. "There is no doubt that the unilateral diplomacy, which started in how we left Lebanon, is what led us to failure after failure. There is no relation between the decision to leave Lebanon, and the way we in which we retreated.