"Israeli" Army chief blames 2006 war failures on upper Military echelon

Source: Compiled by Daily Star, 06-12-2007
The summer 2006 war against Lebanon "unfolded as it did" due to problems in the upper echelons of the "Israeli" military and not because of the soldiers operating on the ground, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told Army Radio on Wednesday. "I won't use the terms failure or victory," Ashkenazi said regarding the month-long war that ended in August 2006. "I use the term missed opportunity. I think there were things we did well, that even Hizbullah would admit surprised them."
"The problem was more with the management, with us, in the way we handled it," he said, adding that while the soldiers were not always sufficiently trained, they fought to the best of their abilities.
Ashkenazi added that the army has improved significantly, though there was a long road of hard work ahead: "We need to return to the ethics of an offensive army, to take responsibility. I want to instill in every soldier and commander the sense that in the time of war, the fate of the establishment rests on him."
Earlier this month, Ashkenazi NATO counterparts in Brussels, "I am convinced the war ... achieved a few important accomplishments for the security of "Israel" and strengthened "Israel's" deterrence [capability]. At the same time, I am now just as convinced, that these accomplishments, and possibly even greater ones, could have been achieved more quickly and at a lower cost."