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IDF cutbacks: Over 1,000 to be fired
Yoav Zitun
Published: 17.11.11, 19:27
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17 Talkbacks for this article
1. Sack the jobniks.
Max Merbaum ,   Los Angeles   (11.17.11)
The warrant officers were always in the way. Apparatchiks that get paid four times as much as the warriors for having big mouths and never firing a shot. Good riddance.
2. Foolish, defense comes first.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (11.17.11)
3. Another proposal
A ,   Belgium   (11.17.11)
Instead of getting rid of the men and women who are doing their jobs, even if they are minor functions, to defend Israel, why not get rid of one overpaid, inept, useless defense minister? How much money could be saved that way?
4. Stupidity
Joe Sombrero ,   USA   (11.17.11)
Total Stupidity
5. What's wrong with getting rid of
Moragh   (11.17.11)
Ehud Barak. From what I can gather, he seems to be just a stupid mouthpiece causing trouble and doing nothing of any worth towards Israel! In any case, isn't he an arab-lover? Send him to Gaza. They have money and can support him and his big mouth!
6. Save costs...disband the army and buy Chapsticks
Al   (11.17.11)
You'll need them when you'll be kissing your ass goodbuy... You guys take the cake in being stupid. You are surrounded with killers who try to kill you 24/7 and you want to save money on security. Dumb dumb dumb..
7. Barbi the general is more concerned with singing in the Army
Al   (11.17.11)
than whether or not the soldiers can shoot straight. Pathetic is best to describe the current state of affairs. Dont worry when the shooting will start and by jolly it will, then we'll see how the chips fall. You can bet your bottom dollar that those soldiers who can only sing but cant shoot will be screaming 'IMMA IMMA IMMA". God damn pathetic.. Its a good thing I taught my kids to shoot while they were still in Montreal.
8. With the world on the brink of World War III,this is foolish
Rivkah   (11.17.11)
to cut IDF troops.
9. Increase the defense budget and decrease
jason white ,   afula, israel   (11.17.11)
money to non Zionist groups! Cut all money to hara-di yeshivas and cut the child allowances to families of draft dodgers. Eliminate most welfare payments and no money to the families of prisoners. Stop the alyah of the elderly and sick. Make all those that have not served in the security forces pay a 100 shekel per month defense tax on each member of the family. Finally put all 18y.o. that do not want to serve in the I.D.F. in labor camps for a few years. Even girls that get pregnant to avoid the draft.No religious excuses, no non military national service. Either serve in the I.D.F. or serve time in a labor camp.
10. Getting rid of Ehud Barak would save an entire platoon.
Scott ,   USA   (11.17.11)
11. it's good that the LORD is your Keeper ...
John ,   Alaska   (11.18.11)
Your government is doing its part awfully, but at least in Ha'Shem you have Someone who will not cut corners in defending you.
12. About time
mba ,   Israel   (11.18.11)
Anyone who has served either in the regular army or reserves knows that the "fat" has existed for years. Good that the time has come for this excess manpower to be eliminated.
13. Do u think its time to do cut?
Moses Mafora ,   Johannesburg   (11.18.11)
14. dont forget the mistakes of Lebanon when making cutbacks
zionist forever   (11.18.11)
While the powers that be make cutbacks just remember Lebanon 2006. One of the many reasons it was such a screw up was the fact the IDF budget had been cut for over a decade year in year out till they reached a stage where they were operating on a shoestring. The Trophy system designed to protect tanks against anti tank missiles was around before Lebanon but the IDF didn't buy it to save money and the result was they lost expensive tanks and soldiers were killed, Reserves had to buy their own body armor because the IDF didn't have enough. Peretz had only recently given the order for the Merkava program to be shut down. Reserves were not being called up for regular training and as a result skills were lost. Even the regular forces didn't have regular exercises. The IDF had been turned into a glorified police force during the oslo years and police forces don't need big budgets which enable them to fight real wars. The politicians pretty much thought the days of conventional wars were over and then Lebanon came along and we were not ready. I am dreading the prospect of a Labor victory at the next election, Shelly Y is an old fashioned hard left winger and with the social justice protests she will be making cuts so deep the IDF will be rationing bullets.
15. To #9 Jason
John ,   Alaska   (11.18.11)
I'm not sure if you're serious or not - a text-only medium can be limiting. If you are not, please accept my apologies for being hypersensitive. If you are, please know that phrases like "labor camp" could be grief/trauma triggers for survivors of Soviet persecution or the Shoah. Aliyah is for all Jews, young and old, rich and poor, well and ill. Part of what makes Jews strong is family bonds, and all Jews are indeed family, whether or not they can contribute. Likewise, ladies who are blessing Israel with another generation of Jews are already living up to their calling; however selfish their motives, they are building your family. You are correct that all able-bodied Jews need to take an active role in defending Eretz Yisrael, and that people evading the draft should not be subsidized while so doing. Perhaps the best way to have more people willing to defend Israel is to teach young people how very grave is the danger of being surrounded by people who want you dead. I have never understood how a Jew could be unwilling to fight for Israel. I'm not and I would still do so, given a younger body and living in your country.
16. To #5 and #12 you don't have excess people
John ,   Alaska   (11.18.11)
You have misassigned people. Definitely trim nonessential positions, but at the same time enhance positions vital to the actual process of defending Israel.
17. #1
Matan ,   Kibbutz Zikim   (11.19.11)
For every 1 combat soldier there's 10 of us supporting them. You can thank me and the rest of my translation unit for our continued dedication to your safety. You can also thank our medic and our information security officer, the logistics NCO who makes sure we have the dictionaries and software my team needs and the cook who makes us dinner. You can put 1,000 combat soldiers into the field - but without guns, ammo, food and intelligence they're totally useless.
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