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Pentagon learning from 'IDF's disaster'
Ynet
Published: 06.04.09, 10:10
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24 Talkbacks for this article
1. sure that's y
ghostq   (04.06.09)
the human sheild got killed as well.
2. Our failure? We're still here 27yrs after Hizzie's charter.
5th generation ,   Israel   (04.06.09)
Nasrallah is underground, and our quality of life is only getting better. The only major "failure" of the IDF is having their hands tied by morality in wars against the fundamentally (pun intended) amoral.
3. Disaster?
Albrecht Klein   (04.06.09)
Operation "Cast Lead" was a political disaster, not a military disaster. If Hamas continues to attack Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu will teach them a very bitter lesson.
4. Lebanon
Fred ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (04.06.09)
Lebanon attacked Israel in 1948, and let the PLO attack Israel from Lebanon in the 1970's. Lebanese fired over the border for the rest of the 20th century. Lebanon captured Israeli soldiers in 2006. If Lebanon attacks again, it must be the last time. Israel must remove Lebanon's ability to wage war in a permanent way.
5. ALL YOU NEED FOR DISASTROUS WARS ARE INCOMPETENT LEADERS
stude ham   (04.06.09)
WHICH WAS THE SITUATION WITH IDIOT PERETZ, who couln't tell one end of a gun from the other, AT THE HEAD OF THE MILITARY.. and OLMERT who didn't have the brains needed to get peretz out of the way. Studies are not required to realize for the consequent disaster.
6. i love it how...
oferdesade ,   israel   (04.06.09)
...even well thought out, intelligent articles draw out the same old tired talkbacks with the same old tired slogans (yes, including this one, i'm ashamed to say). does noone actually have something productive to contribute?
7. Yankees' Wanton Conceit !
Abdel Karim Salim ,   Jerusalem - ISRAEL   (04.06.09)
The worst enemy of the IDFand US armed forces is the wanton conceit they suffer from and the over-confidence they have. I am surprised to learn Yankees are taking HIZBULLAH mighty seriously because I thought thay have already learnt from their bitter,disgraceful defeat in Vietnam at the hands of the Viet Cong. Similarly,the IDF learnt a terrible and costly lesson in the 1973 Yom Kippur War at the hands of Syrian and Egyptian armies using efficient Soviet-made weapons that destroyed most of Israel's US-built and British-made tanks and fighter aircraft, such efficient Soviet weapons that alarmed Henry Kissinger so much that he directly intervened in the final phase of that war by stating the US would not allow at any stage the Soviet weapons to defeat US-made weapons... ! One last reminder:Soviet-made"AT-3 Sagger " anti-tank missiles, and Soviet-made "SAM3 Goa",SAM-6 Gainful", and SAM-7 Grail" anti-aircraft misiles sufficed to destroy the bigger part of Israel's IAF, and IDF's tanks too !
8. US military gains from IDF experience - even its failures
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, USA   (04.06.09)
Some people are always knocking the few billion in (mostly) military aid Israel gets from the US, forgetting how much the US gets back from the relationship. The US actually gets a high return from its investment. They get the kind of real world experience that no amount of weapons testing can provide. They study the hell out of Israeli tactics - those that succeed and those that fail - and even train on-site with experienced IDF personnel. All this, in the end, strengthens US forces and saves US lives. And, yes, IDF at its best can be undercut when its capabilities are hampered by political clowns at the top.
9. This article, once and for all....
Bandar (Hezbollah) ,   Beirut, Lebanon   (04.06.09)
puts an end as to who won the war of 2006. Here are a few quotes from the article that award victory to Hezbollah: 1) " US army has dispatched as many as a dozen teams over the past three years to interview Israeli officers who fought against Hizbullah, with the goal of learning from the war's failures, which was perceived by the Pentagon as "a disaster" for the Israeli military." 2) "Hizbullah understood Israeli armor's vulnerabilities" 3)" US military experts were stunned by the destruction that Hizbullah forces, using sophisticated antitank guided missiles, were able to wreak on Israeli armor columns. Unlike the guerrilla forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, who employed mostly hit-and-run tactics, the Hizbullah fighters held their ground against Israeli forces in battles that stretched as long as 12 hours. They were able to eavesdrop on Israeli communications and even struck an Israeli ship with a cruise missile."
10. something productive
Golan ,   SL   (04.06.09)
the problem with the war against Islamic extremism is that they attack the underbelly of the libral western behemoth. They "force" the defending side to strike at its enemies who just so happen to be surrounded by willing human shields. Then once the military target is eliminated liberal western journalists declare a massacre giving the Islamists a propaganda victory. If they west refuses to attack then it it a military victory for those people. The way to win Lebanon and Gaza is carpet bombing. However today with so many willing Arab/Muslim and leftist enemies we have to choose if to give the enemy a propaganda victory or a military victory. And this is catch 22 we face.
11. that's america's problem
tom ,   toronto, canada   (04.06.09)
the american military is famous for preparing very well, for the last war. this is mostly a symptom of a top-heavy command structure with too much time on their hands between conflicts. and this usually means that they enter a war totally unprepared for their current task. instead of asking israel what they are preparing next, they focus on what went wrong against hezbollah; but the americans are unlikely to fight hezbollah, and even hezbollah won't be the same next time. already, hamas wasn't the same as hezbollah, and tehran won't be like gaza. the americans have castrated their intelligence services, partly for political reasons, and partly by relying too heavily on technology, so instead of working to counter real, current threats, they are focussing on "recent military history" instead. the biggest lessons of lebanon were in the planning failures, the political echelon, and the terms of the ceasefire, almost none of which is applicable to the united states.
12. #9, of cause you won. That is why Divine cave
leo ,   USA   (04.06.09)
dweller is nowhere to be found.
13. I hope Israel is learning
Rivkah ,   Israel   (04.06.09)
One can only hope that ISrael is also taking lessons from this and other wars. At the very least hopefully the learned intelligence can be shared with Israel. www.yeshabulletin.com
14. #12 leo, USA
Marco ,   Spain   (04.06.09)
Its your pentagon officials that are the source of this report. You are not being smart by using sarcasm, you are only showing your ignorance and stupidity.
15. Victory not "disaster"
Ari ,   NYC USA   (04.06.09)
The only failure was that the army was taking direction from weak, corrupt and incompetent political leaders. Halutz was an air force guy who knew nothing of ground warfare. Peretz was only capable of organizing a union/Histadrut strike and Olmert the corrupt was a failure as a PM from day one. Not withstanding these handicaps, the IDF performed admirably and Hezbolla was given a thrashing that it will soon not forget.
16. #8, America trades intelligence with half the world
Josh B ,   Washington DC, USA   (04.06.09)
Raymond, while the US gets *something* back in the way of intelligence from Israel, we've been fighting in Iraq/Afghnistan for 8 years now. Surely those conflicts yield greater returns than 4 days of Israel vs Hezbollah. We conduct operations with dozens of NATO/UN armies, but we don't give them billions in aid. Israel doesn't need U.S. aid. Let's just stop giving the antisemites ANOTHER excuse to hate us.
17. #9 Thats why we are different
Avishai ,   Rochester, NY   (04.06.09)
Winning a war for you means not getting totally annihilated. Winning a war for us means not losing a single soldier. So bravo with allowing your people to be thrown into the meat grinder.. we have bigger plans for our soldiers like becoming business men, scientists, teachers, parents.
18. #15 Ari
Bandar ,   Beirut, lebanon   (04.06.09)
You Ari, must have been watching a different war from the one that the Pentagon was watching. As far as the Pentagon is concerned, its Israel that "was given a thrashing that it will soon not forget" by Hezbollah and not the other way round. But then again, what do those officials at the Pentagon know? I am sure that Ari here knows better. What an IDIOT!
19. #14; Of cause you won. That is why Hezbollah
leo ,   USA   (04.06.09)
would rather be caught dead than be accused of attacking Israel.
20. Bandar #18
X'   (04.06.09)
If I remember correctly you had 500+ terrorist dead vs. 110 Israeli soldiers, south Lebanon's towns are still war zone/ garbage dumps, your infastructure in Berirut is still flat and black and Nazrallah admitted that if he knew the effects of his terrorist's actions he wouldn't have started hostilities in the first place. Furthwer more, Nazrallah is still hiding in a bunker just like common vermin. Seems to me, israel kicked Hizbullah's ass.
21. Josh B, I don't wholly disagree with you, but...
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, USA   (04.06.09)
Yes, the US has gained plenty of experience fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they *still* send some of their people to Israel for specialized training. And I guarantee you the Pentagon and service academies are spending a lot of time studying Operation Cast Lead to gain from that experience. Yes, Israel could get by without the $3 Billion in annual military aid. And I'm sure it would be more inclined to drop it, were it not for the fact that Egypt, the PA, Jordan and now Lebanon are together getting a comparable amount of military aid - all focused in the direction of Israel. I suspect, too, that defense industry in the US is happy for that aid since some 75% comes back in orders.
22. HEADLINE: U.S. needs Israel, instead of Israel needing U.S.
Aaron ,   SF, USA   (04.06.09)
23. While Osama is laughting...
arturo ,   madrid spain   (04.06.09)
...Nassralah is hiding. No official numbers of Hezbollah casualities, no more rocket fire, when palestinians fire rockets from lebanon hezbollah stops them very quickly...Its amazing how the western world describes this as a disaster for Israel, while Hezbollah is hiding among civilians. Has Israel Bombed Hezbollah and killed same number of civilians as NATO did in Serbia and the americans did in Iraq...
24. # 9
J.K. ,   Brooklyn USA   (04.11.09)
Bandar ! since Hezbollah was victorious,why didn't Hezbollah give a helping hand to their terrorist brothers in Gaza ? is it ,A because hezbollah is in the service of Iran, not the palestinians,or B simply,Hezbollah was afraid of the IDF.Israel lost 30 Tanks,which is not a lot, considering the sophisticated anti Tank weapons in the hands of the terrorists.This war was a blessing in disguise for Israel,Nasarala , the quisling, jumped the gun and pointed out to Israel it's shortcomings.Hezbollah changed it's tactics from hit and run to hit and hide among the civilian population,It was Israel's humanity that saved Hezbolla.Unlike Israel, Hezbolla has no qualms targeting civilians.Israel has no borders with Iran.Jews did not kill their God,why is Iran financing a war against Israel and the Jewish people (remember Argentina),how does that war against Israel benefit the Iranian people,let alone the lebanese people ? can somebody explain ?.
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