Army learns nothing
Why have all four Lebanon war division commanders not paid a price?
The argument, which is being repeated over and over again by the military spokesperson, is that the investigations have yet to be completed.
This fact – that the investigations are not yet over - didn't prevent the chief of staff himself from granting an interview to the Yair Lapid talk show (although he was careful not to say anything), and it didn't stop him from making surprising decisions regarding the fates of the four division commanders who managed the fighting on the ground.
Same list in different guise
And so we have ended up with this wonderful list – the same old list in a different guise – comprising the commanders who led the failed war, which ended with 160 deaths.
Those who failed in their tactics, such as the one who said "Bint Jbeil is in our hands," will from now on serve as the head of the strategic division; the one who failed in operating the joint forces at the Saluki battle will be in charge of training the joint forces; and the two division commanders whose performance was humiliating, to say the least, at the cost of valuable human life, will get enough time to prepare for the next test.
Ass covering
As to the question why we deserve this, there are several possible answers - they are all bad. The first answer can be summed up under the heading: Ass covering. Remember General (Res.) Dan Shomron who is currently (two months after the ending of the war!) probing the general staff's performance during the war? Good.
Do you know who will be asked the difficult questions? Precisely: Those very same division commanders. There's no need to be a genius to guess what they would have said about the general staff and its chief had they been required to respond from the comfort of their homes, while in the meantime sassing out available employment options in civilian life.
But now? Are they crazy enough to bite the hand that feeds them so generously? They are not Shiite suicide bombers.
Nothing but the best
The second option is that they are the best the military has. The military says that the reason for this can be attributed to Israeli society. If the best go to high-tech, to the academic world, to business and to Seattle, what do they expect from the army? Should it make the most of the human potential it?
Most importantly, as they enjoy saying there, no one acted out of malice. It's true; heads don't roll for simple lack of talent, limited capabilities and professional negligence.
A third option is that what is acceptable for the two other heads in this triangle (Olmert and Peretz) – the one who set up a cabinet and whose sole purpose is to get through another hour and another day; the other one who's not only insisting on remaining in the cabinet but is also making excuses why it is so crucial - then the third head can remain in place as well.
Why, why is that Shiite suicide bomber here?
Public trust amorphous
And what does this say about us? Primarily, that public trust is amorphous, fluid and it's okay to treat it with reservations. The public treats itself this way anyway. Just look at how many people actually turned up at the reserve soldiers' protest tent, the squares and the Supreme Court demanding that the government not probe itself and the army not probe itself.
And secondly, the words written by Gilad Ben Yehuda from Kfar Tabor and published Tuesday should be read once again. His uncle Yossi Eliel served in the Golani Commando Unit and was killed in the first Lebanon war (which as you may recall achieved great things).
His brother served in the Golani Commando Unit and was killed in the second Lebanon war (which had similar achievements), and now he is insisting on also serving in the Golani Unit.
In other words, as long as the public keeps quiet, the media keeps being viewed as the enemy and our great and naïve youngsters keep volunteering; Ehud Olmert, Amir Peretz and their generals will be able to initiate, approve, plan and run the next war.
