Channels

Photo: Eli Elgarat
Dan Halutz
Photo: Eli Elgarat
Photo: Niv Calderon
Udi Adam
Photo: Niv Calderon
Photo: AP
IDF fighters in Lebanon
Photo: AP

Halutz: It took time to build ground move

In Channel 10 interview, army chief deals with question why it took IDF so long to enter ground operation; 'if alternative was to attack Lebanon from the ground, we would have found ourselves being disgracefully expelled,' he says. Northern command chief, however, says plans were ready for several days, waiting for approval

Why did it take the Israel Defense Forces so long to head toward Litani River with large forces? IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz said Saturday evening in a Channel 10 interview that "if the alternative was to attack Lebanon from the ground, we would have found ourselves being disgracefully expelled with disgrace. A ground move also has to be built.

 

Northern Command Chief Major-General Udi Adam said during a press briefing that "the plans were ready for several days now, and in general before the recent events. The moment we received the approval, we were on our way."

 

Halutz said commissions of inquiry do not scare him, "I was not born an army chief and will not die an army chief."

 

However, he said that "there are a lot of things which have to be looked into. How did we reach such a reality in six years. How did the defense budget reach a situation in which it cannot meet the defense means necessary for the State of Israel, this is exactly the source of failure to improve."

 

 

The army chief spoke after dozens of helicopters brought large forces into southern Lebanon as part of the expansion of the military operation, which was the largest landing operation since the Yom Kippur War.

 

A large number of aircraft participated in the mission, including Yanshuf and Yasur helicopters flown by reserve and standing army pilots. Simultaneous to landing the forces, supplies for soldiers were also airdropped from the helicopters.


IDF soldiers in Lebanon (Photo: AP)

 

Halutz answered a question regarding the delay in the ground entry: "We were in Lebanon on the ground, for all those who have forgotten, in a very large operation, and we stayed there for 18 years. Therefore this statement if why we did not enter on the force earlier is a question which before it is answered, all its aspects should be examined and this is not the main thing. At what price? That is also a question which should be asked."

 

Halutz noted that the IDF knew from the start that it has no answer for the short-range rockets.

 

Regarding the incidents in which IDF soldiers were killed, Halutz said: "I think that to consider the events in Maroun a-Ras and Bint Jbeil as decisive and environment-shaping is not correct."

 

"There were many comparable incidents in other Israeli wars, I don't remember them influencing the Israeli consciousness in the way they are trying to make out of these incidents. The sense that we are carrying out a quick blitz here is mistaken. I am the last to say we are an organization innocent of errors. We do make mistakes," he added.

 

According to the chief of staff, the army has made significant achievements in south Lebanon.

 

"The first is the position and state of Hizbullah. The second – the demolition of long-range rockets and launchers. The third – hitting Hizbullah itself. More than 500 Hizbullah operatives were killed, we hit weapons arsenals and Hizbullah territory," he said.

 

"The targets we did not yet achieve are the short-range Katyushas. To reach each and every one of them, you need to put your hand on them. This process is extremely demanding, and we need to reach a state in which the other side has no motivation to fire them," Halutz added.

 

When asked at which point he decided something was not right in the Northern Command, Halutz answered: "Everything is fine with the Northern Command. We work as a team. I have already said what I have to say in the matter of Udi Adam. I have thus far no complaints against him."

 

Northern Command chief: IDF waited 10 days for green light

 

Northern Command Chief Udi Adam put the ball in the political court again Saturday, saying the army was ready to enter south Lebanon in greater force for over a week and was only awaiting a go-ahead from the government.

 

Replying to charges that the expanded military operation in south Lebanon launched Saturday could have started weeks ago, Adam said, "the Northern Command had and has a number of plans against the Hizbullah organization. The plans were prepared a while ago, before the most recent events. The moment we got authorization, we set out."

 

According to Adam, "Most of this has been planned for ten days. The moment the political ranks passed their decision to the army, we launched the offensive. Unequivocally – the Northern Command was ready the moment it was told to be ready for the offensive."

 

Adam was speaking during a press briefing on the army's achievements in Lebanon .

 

"On Monday I hope the achievements will be such that we will reach a large number of the rocket launch sites, and we'll take command of part of the territory as we planned – if not over most of the territory, and we'll be in a better situation than we are in now. Assuming the ceasefire will take effect, we will stop when we are told, and if it does not go into effect – we can also continue," he said.

 

"This means that whether there is a ceasefire or not does not need to interest the fighting soldier. What should interest him is only that he has a mission and must perform it," Adam added.

 

The Northern Command head noted that "just today (Saturday) forces managed to killed more than 40 terrorists. We are finding weapons stores, rockets. Today a Golani Brigade force found hundreds of rockets in one house. We found surveillance and listening equipment. Every day there are such surprises. We will continue to clean out all these strongholds."

 

During the briefing Adam was asked whether the risk to soldiers was worth the effort, seeing as the territories conquered will be very quickly returned to Lebanese hands. In response, Adam said: "The risk is worthwhile. A ceasefire may not take effect and the (rocket) fire could continue, and then what? The attempt to stop the firing and reach more Hizbullah cells seems to me appropriate and necessary."

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.12.06, 21:24
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment