“We are aware of the slightly exaggerated phenomenon of self-laceration, which this time is unusual in its intensity,” he said of the extensive criticism of the performance of the political and military echelons during the war. What is printed reflects things as blacker than black. We are champions at switching from unfounded euphoria to unwarranted despair. There is no place for either of these.

Distorting reality

"I recognize the value of the media and the importance of its task to communicate, expose, criticize and hold up a mirror, but sometimes it seems this mirror is warped and there is a large gap between objective reality and perceived reality.”

Halutz, who after the war was ordered to provide explanations for the IDF’s performance in the field, discussed the inquiry and examination into the army.

“The main aim of the war against Hizbullah was to change the rules of the game, and in light of this we must ask what was achieved and what wasn’t. I appointed many examining teams to look into the holes that must be fixed – from the chief of staff down to every last soldier. The teams appointed by the army are not instead of the official examinations,” he said.

On the Palestinians: ‘In the end they’ll find consensus – us’ 

The IDF chief also addressed the threats and missions Israel and the army are faced with.

Regarding the Palestinian arena, he noted: “The solution to the Palestinian issue seems distant. The Palestinian system is in a situation of anarchy, especially in Gaza, as opposed to in Judea and Samara, where we are physically present. In Gaza there is anarchy.

There is not ‘king’ to take the law into his hands and make order.

"There are internal wars that find an escape route through us. In the end, they won’t fight a civil war but will settle on a consensus – and that is us,” he warned.

Halutz reiterated warnings that the Palestinians were smuggling large quantities of weapons into Gaza. He said Palestinians were linked to a smuggling chain that goes from Damascus and Tehran all the way to the Gaza Strip.

As for Syria, Halutz said he considered Syrian President Bashar Assad as having his “right foot in the hot water of a war and his left foot is in the cold water of peace.”

“We need to be alert to the fact that the capabilities Syria is building are a bad dream compared to what we saw with Hizbullah. They have rockets systems that could hit the home front, if there is a confrontation. They have an army which we tend to belittle, but I suggest to take it seriously. The Syrians understand and harbor part of the terror operating against Israel – they stand behind Hizbullah, Hamas and the Jihad.”

Halutz also addressed the Iranian threat and the danger ambushing Israel. In Iran there exists “the combination of fanatic ideology and the strong will to attain nuclear weapons. And their flag is the desire to destroy Israel. We can’t remain indifferent; we need to look at things from a temporal perspective. We need to be ready for this insane possibility. This is a real, unequivocal threat, and they’ve already declared their intentions.”