The current situation demands a great deal of candor. There were major mistakes made and the leadership of Israel seems clueless and -- more worrisome -- unwilling to seek solutions. They all seem to want to cling to power and its trapping (the Volvos, the Mitsubishis, etc). Meanwhile, Israel is faced with perhaps its greatest existential threat. Yaalon is a patriot, and the friends of Olmert who will besmirch him via some 'spin' about his wanting to harm the families of soldiers will not fool the large majority of Israelis, who demand and deserve a speedy state-level inquiry into the incompetence at the top, which threatens the wellbeing and very lives of nearly ten million people.

That's right. Why do they have to "blubber? Why do they have to speak truths? Why should Israel get it's head out of it's ass? Yoram Kaniuk doesn't want anything getting between his mouth and his croissant when he's sipping cafe hafooch in Tel_Aviv. He dreams of Olmert's "Paradise in the North" and Israel becoming a "fun place to live". He believes in exchanging freedom of speech for the complacency of his cozy cafe. But , sadly, many soldiers DID die in vain and their comrades, in who’s arms they died, cry out to be heard while this Olemrtian "tired of fighting Israel's enemies" old windbag tries to silence them. This is as much about freedom of speech as it is of ridding Israel of the enemy within. Ridding Israel of traitors who sent soldiers to their deaths without backup or food. Who sent them into a battle the commander in chief was not committed to fighting OR winning. Ya'alon is a brave man for speaking up. The reservists are even braver. The generals who speak up do so because they are sick to their stomachs. Their hearts are broken. They cannot hold back. Their conscience won’t let them wait till the “blood dries”. This old NEW GUARD is just scared. Scared for the punishment they will receive for the sins they committed against their countrymen in their quest for power and money. Kaniuk is another spinner for this treasonous bunch.

1. Discussions of what went wrong should focus 1st & foremost on identifying specific problems and learning concrete lessons. NOT on character assassination. 2. If, during such discussions, it becomes clear that specific individuals or institutions broke down, were obstructionists or played politics with the war, this should be noted. 3. At the POLITICAL level, it is CRITICAL to allow members of the government and opposition to air their disagreements over policy. That's a key part of democracy and has happened for decades in Israel. You shouldn't suppress this indefinitely in the name of kindness to the berieved families. What *really* made me mad was the way that the government and IDF talked *during* the war, telegraphing their moves and boasting how they would teach Hizballah a lesson, etc. Teddy Roosevelt once said: "speak softly but carry a big stick." The Olmert-Peretz government did exactly the opposite. After a war, YES, think about what went wrong (and how to fix it) and think about how to make the next war completely different in character. Don't gag your strategic thinkers or your dissident voices.

It is not China. This guy thinks that Olmert-Peretz-Livni know best. They should speak very laud because the rest of us has no voice in Olmerts government. He just gives money his friends and they say "yes boss".

The Military are a servant to the government and the people in the land in which it is in. As an ex military man of 20 years I speak with expierence, any problem that you have there is a chain of command for you to go to. The press is not the place to air your views, as it shows the whole world that the military has a problem and is not together only divided.

YORAM KANIUK HAS LOST HIS MIND.HE IS TELLING THE READERS THE MOSHE TAALON AND SHAUL MOFAZ SHOULD BE QUIT ONTILE EVETHING IS SEATTLED DOWN.HE DOES NOT WANT YAALON AND CHAUL TO TALK ABOUT WHY THE WEAK OLMERT GOVERMENT LOST 120 IDF SOLDERS IN THE LEBANON.

It's precisely because "only the rich and the powerful" are worth anything in current Israeli political life, that people need to speak out, and the more the better. How sad to hear a distinguished writer argue in favour of plugging and limiting freeing speech and debate even if it is from people who themselves should not perhaps be catsing the first stone - but on this too the public should judge. Anything that stops the futile and ill-considered use of force is worth doing. We have set ourselves back by 20 years, not only Lebanon, by acting in haste, without due thought and care before taking decisions. Why on earth wouldn't we want that out in the open?

iam not a sun to disinfect this society iam not a water to clean this comunity iam not a god to forbid this missary iam just a light to expose the truth iam need the truth

This author suggests that only the ones who are paid by Olmert should talk. He knows better than you poor folks.

I absolutely agree with Yoram Kaniuk. If this government goes, we'll have to deal with something much worse. Of course, many mistakes were made and many lessons should be learned. The people most to blame are the ones who still beleive we can hold on occupying all of Judeaea and Samaria. Creating new settlements like crazy while the Oslo Treaty was being signed. Creating a situation of fait accompli in the territories and investing so much money in the settlers security and infrastructure, that's a humongeous mistake . The price we are paying for this right now and will have to pay in the future is huge.Let the present governement and the military learn from their mistakes and continue with a rational , Realpolitik approach to the fate of the Jewish State and International Relations. Don't allow Bibi to come back!