Quote:
Originally Posted by Druze
Most IDF companies sat on the border waiting for the full advance into Lebanon for days, then they'd finally get their orders only to have them rescinded minutes before deploying. This indescision and back and forth lasted until the last 48 hours till Israel made a smalll symbolic push to the Litani with a very limited amount of soldiers.
When I came across the border back into Israel after the war I was deeply suprised that many full regiments never went in and spent the whole war pretty much throwing pebbles at one another and didn't even cross north.
The political leadership and its Air Force oriented Chief of Staff made horrible mistakes.
Rather then awe Lebanon with immediate airstrikes on their National airport, bridges, and power facilities, an immediate force could have pushed straight to the Litani and clean up crews could have followed immediately to locate tunnels, weapons caches, and secure the area which would have stopped nearly all of the rocket attacks on Israel. But Top command decided they could stop the rockets from the air instead of from the ground so Hezbollah was able to launch their crude rockets up until the third to last day of the war. Big mistake.
The fact that IDF soldiers deep behind enemy lines had to actually hydrate themselves by taking water canteens from Dead Hezbollah fighters shows clearly that the top commanders knew all along the political leadership was not willing and did not plan for a full scale assault. It was also a source of humour among many soldiers returning with Hezbollah flags and jokingly saying that if it hadn't been for those twenty Hezbollah fighters that they got into a firefight with they would have died of thirst!!!! 
I have some video from my unit as we crossed back that I am still trying to get back from military censors. It is pretty much a twenty minute collage of clips of joke on the government, some very funny such as one commander saying that if Ariel Sharon had woken up today and saw how Olmert had handled the war he'd force his doctor to re-induce his coma at gunpoint. Because mention was made in the video of the tunnel system my battalion discovered those bastards took my memory card away and I'm still waiting to get it back. |
Druze,
All wars lost or stalled is always blamed on the politicians and lack of will and indecision. It is nothing that is new.
The political leadership gives the National Intent to the Commander in Chief (CinC) and he is to translate the political intent to the military intent. In the event, the political intent cannot be converted into the military intent, the CinC has to state so and if still forced then he either resigns or modifies the war plan to achieve as much as possible. Now, if this, which is followed universally, is what is done in Israel, don't you think that it is the fault also of the military, even if the political leadership was inept?
Indecision in the battlefield is not the fault of the politician. The battefield is the sole preserve of the military. There is nothing called symbolism in battle. Nor can anyone but the military commanders be blamed for embarking on mission with 'limited amount of troops'. The troops to task is the prerogative of the commander and not politicians. I am saddened and shocked since this does speak negatively of the casual attitude displayed and the cavalier execution. Could it be overconfidence at play to only discover it is that it was misplaced?
If the troops were throwing pebbles and not enjoining in battle even when the situation was nearly turning into a crisis, it is indeed a extraordinary commentary about the professionalism displayed at all levels. It borders on the ridiculous not to use combat ready units when a crisis has developed. Compare this with the Suez Crossing of Sharon during 1967. I am sure there would have been good reasons for troops throwing pebbles and not being employed and which has not been placed on the public forum.
Likewise, it is not the politicians who dictate how much of water is to be taken on a mission. The illustration that Israeli soldiers on a mission had to take water off the Hezb dead does speak of the lacklustre attitude towards planning of a mission and ineptness of the military commanders at the unit and formation level. It does give a poor impression of the professionalism that is current and that there has been a degradation from the past.
I have read on this forum about how the Hezbs used the A Tk msls against IDF and also the way the Hezb were painted as they were some bogeymen.
It is deeply disturbing a thought that Israel could be halted by a rag tag lot.
I am sure that in Israel there is some real serious discussions taking place and errors being rectified so that the next time, it is back to business as it was before the Lebanon phase of IDF's history.
It is not the time to find scapegoats and fall guys or find excuses for what appears to be a real botched up affair and instead do some real honest heart searching!