IDF wants to 'move, fight and attack'

Government will decide shortly whether to halt army operation in Lebanon, but IDF also prepared to fight. 'Army doesn't like waiting - waiting damages motivation,' head of Northern Command Chief of Staff tells Ynet

Hanan Greenberg|Published: 08.11.06 , 00:08

The IDF is tensely awaiting instructions from the political echelons, and as things looked Thursday night, it is uncertain whether forces will continue moving northward in Lebanon towards the Litani River.

Brigadier-General Alon Friedman, Chief of Staff of the IDF 's Northern Command, told Ynet, "The army doesn't like waiting. Due to the nature of things forces want to move, to fight and to attack."

According to Friedman many Hizbullah rocket-launching cells are now operating just north of the areas in which the IDF is fighting, which obligates the homefront to stay in shelters. "We don't like having them in shelters, and we want to do everything to protect them," the officer said.

The mood of waiting and uncertainty was clearly felt among reservists as well. One soldier, a reservist from an elite unit, told Ynet, "The situation is extremely difficult, it damages motivation. We were on the verge of entering, our faces painted with camouflage, all of our equipment ready and at the last minute they brought us back. This is happening all the time. We have friends in Lebanon – we should have gone in to give them backup, to fulfill our missions, but the state is hesitating. It's not healthy – it's dangerous. If they don't need us here they should send us home."

Other soldiers from the unit discussed their feelings with their commander. "We're ready to go in and carry out any mission and slay our fear, but they're stopping us anew every time. In the end this will cost in human lives," one soldier said.

Waiting for the next stage

During a press briefing in the North, Brig. Gen. Friedman said the political ranks "have not instructed us to stop the operation. At the political-chief of staff level, we were told to continue and deepen our hold on the area we've captured, where a number of terrorists are still wandering around and there are many weapons caches and rocket launchers as well. What the political ranks told us was to wait to withdraw until the next stage to allow other processes to happen and to enable a stronger hold on the territory."

Friedman added that at this stage, as long as the IDF received no orders otherwise, forces would continue operating across southern Lebanon against Hizbullah terror infrastructure. In one village raided by the IDF, troops discovered sheds loaded with weapons. Likewise forces operating in various villages from west to east continued to encounter terrorists.

According to Friedman, some of the terrorists were located in these areas since the IDF started operating there in the past weeks while others streamed to the area in the past few days. "The forces operating right now are also busy opening routes as part of a process to allow northward movement if necessary," he said.

The general further explained that if, in any case, the army was directed to expand operations, there were enough standing and reserve troops ready to fulfill the missions and there would be no need to call up additional soldiers, at least at the initial stages. The IDF recently shuffled forces from various sectors, thus enhancing the number of forces on the northern border, prepared to enter Lebanon.

Friedman noted that if the instructions were given to expand operations and eliminate rocket fire - requiring deployment as far as the Litani River - due to the nature of things, operations within the villages would be reduced and numerous forces would move northwards. He refused to disclose how many troops were currently in action, but noted that a great deal of forces would reinforce those currently fighting if such a strategy were undertaken. Regarding the length of time such an operation would take, Friedman explained that the longer the army had to 'clean' out the territory, the more effective the operation would be.

"At this stage we're continuing to carry out the missions we have, and meanwhile we'll wait and see what instructions we get. We will be prepared to execute any mission or to fulfill whatever decision the political echelons come to."