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Time to go, Halutz
Army chief can't rehabilitate IDF, but can still help the country by revealing truth
Ron Breiman
When Dan Halutz was appointed as chief of staff, on the eve of the disengagement, I called on him to "continue to bravely voice his security doctrine and moral stance that only a determined, ongoing war against the enemy – even if innocents are hurt at times – can minimize the horrors of terror and the number of its victims on both sides." I also called on him to "maintain the purity of arms and refrain from using the IDF for an objective it was not designed for: Evicting Jews from their homes in their own country."
Regrettably, Army Chief Halutz failed in his post: On the one hand he proudly led the IDF into the parade of abomination, whose essence was the destruction of the Gush Katif communities and the expulsion of their residents. On the other hand, he failed to convince the politicians of the need for a determined, ongoing war against the enemy. The result is that Israel continues to tread water in its war against the Palestinians instead of wining it; Israel also continues to reconcile itself to the turning of its residents into refugees in their own country (in the south, north, and again in the south); Israel also accepts the continued control and armament of Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Halutz is not at fault for everything. To a large extent, he has been hindered by the politicians, who sent him to carry out a clearly illegal order in Gush Katif, gave him indecisive, wishy-washy directions in the Lebanon war, and prevent him from deciding the war while dealing with survival maneuvers instead of drawing conclusions. At the same time, Halutz has been designated by the same political echelon as a scapegoat for the failures of his superiors.
The politicians are not doing what they've been tasked with. There, instead of taking care of burning issues, Olmert led a (third of an) exiled, ill government in a futile journey to the United States and photo opportunities with American celebrities. And Peretz? He promises to evacuate Sderot residents better than Gaydamak, that is, he completely fails to understand that his job is to remove the threat on Sderot instead of removing the residents from their town.
In this perplexing reality, Halutz has no chance of surviving as chief of stuff. The snowball is already rolling in his direction, and the scapegoat has already been doomed. His fall will not save his superiors, but rather, extend by a few months their current terms and the severe damage they're causing Israel at this difficult time.
What is left for Halutz to do? As a uniformed officer in a democratic country he cannot do much. Yet as he's being led by Olmert and Peretz to terminate his work anyway, he has the ability to select the date: Immediately. If he does this, he will be able to repair a little of what he broke during his short term as chief of staff. Moreover, he will be free to voice his professional, public criticism of the prime minister and defense minister, who hindered him and led Israel to its grave state.
Sadly, Dan Halutz lost his ability to rehabilitate the IDF. Yet he still has not lost his ability to contribute to rehabilitating the country, if he quits immediately and expresses his views on the grave manner in which the war in the south and north is being managed by reckless politicians. Every additional day where he clings to the army chief's office futilely extends both his and their terms in office and puts off the required, urgent process of rehabilitation.
Dr. Ron Breiman is a member of Professors for a Strong Israel
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_a.jpg "Photo: Yaron Brener")
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