Committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi
Photo: Gil Yohanan
_a.jpg "Photo: Eli Elgarat")
MK Yuval Steinitz
Photo: Eli Elgarat
Reservists: No real war plan
Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee finish hearing reservist testimonies of Lebanon war. Committee chairman: Very bad impression of IDF
Sunday, the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs committee finished hearing witness testimonies from reserves soldiers who took part in the second Lebanon war. In the past three weeks, committee members have heard the testimony of 45 reserves soldiers.
One reservist told of how, in the first three weeks of fighting, the IDF deployed ground forces in the strip of land along the border with Israel, where there was a significant presence of Hizbullah rocket launching teams, but the IDF chose to operate against different targets.
"The ground procedures in the first weeks of the war were not targeted against short-range rocket launchers as planned, and rather were focused on taking over towns and villages, such an Bint Jbeil, in order to gain a moral victory and demand a price from Hizbullah," he said.
Reservists unhappy
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Some of the soldiers and officers recounted a feeling of having no objective in the war (manifested primarily in the frequently altered plans), of faulty missions and commands with no clear final objective, of orders to march in broad daylight on dangerous routes.
They expressed the feeling that the IDF's Northern Command didn't understand that this was a war and not a drill.
Committee members heard testimonies indicating that, despite the numerous aerial sorties, ground forces did not receive airborne assistance when it was needed.
Additionally, the reservists stated that the IDF didn't change or adapt its operating procedures in the first weeks of the fighting. Thus, for example, soldiers continued to take shelter in buildings, despite the fact that this had proven to be fatal.
"I saw a complete loss of self-control in the commanding echelon, which paralyzed the other echelons all the way down. When the operations didn't succeed, they kept trying over and over the same way," said one soldier.
Loitering in Lebanon
Regarding medical readiness, witnesses reported that many units found old paramedic equipment unsuited to the task at hand.
They told of medicine shortages - particularly sedatives that would have helped field surgeons - of expired medicines, and of field exercises that had not addressed the subject of field medicine.
Committee Chairman MK Tzachi Hangebi (Kadima) announced that the committee would begin hearing testimonies from senior officers, from the rank of division commanders all the way to the general staff and political echelon.
MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud), formerly a chairman of the committee, said "the general impression created by the testimonies is very bad."
"A significant number of the soldiers that spoke, primarily the officers, expressed concern at the IDF's ability to defend itself against a military attack by strong nations with a well-trained active duty army, such as Egypt and Syria," he stated.
"With no exception, the officer testimonies gave us the feeling that…the operation was managed without purpose and without an established strategic idea…merely tactical operations unconnected to a general plan with a purpose," Steinitz elaborated.
"The operation turned into loitering of forces in the field with no real attempt to bring about a decisive result. The loitering eventually brought about the situation where the military was fighting Hizbullah in areas where the IDF had no operational advantage," he said.
