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Galant, Barak, and Ashkenazi
Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry

Respect for IDF is gone

Op-ed: Galant affair reveals grim, dangerous state of Israel’s security establishment

We’ve had no sacred cows around here for a while now. We slaughtered all of them, one by one. However, there was still respect, appreciation, and usually pride as well. Indeed, the days when IDF generals were like God’s deputies (with the army chief being God) are long gone, yet we still believed that the General Staff Headquarters is a sort of nature reserve – that is, a forum immune to environmental pollution; a sort of green area within a polluted, decayed body.

 

This is the reason why the shock around here in the past week is so deep. The question of whether the so-called Galant document is forged or not is the last issue that should preoccupy us. What’s much more disturbing is the conduct of the people who are supposed to be focused on one thing only: The responsibility for our security and wellbeing.

 

These are people who on a few minutes’ notice are supposed to be ready to counter the most extreme situations and greatest catastrophes. Yet it appears that nobody can convince us this is indeed the situation today.

 

Put this house in order

On Tuesday it turned out that the army chief held the Galant document for some months, yet nonetheless did not see fit to approach the defense minister or to clarify the matter with Major General Galant himself. This situation reveals the deep alienation between the army chief and the general under his command, as well as the lack of trust between Ashkenazi and the minister in charge.

 

The police investigation was launched last Sunday. For a few days we saw an unusual procedure where prosecutors demanded that Channel Two hand over the document. Yet now it turns out that the police knew all along that Army Chief Ashkenazi had the document in his possession, yet nonetheless chose to harass Channel Two. Now that’s a scandal in and of itself.

 

One way or another, what we’ve seen in the past few days should certainly make us lose sleep. The more this mess clears up, the more it turns out that much is still hidden and that the negative atmosphere and impossible work environment at the top of our security establishment have a crucial effect on the one place that is supposed to be a model of level-headedness, calmness, and cooperation.

 

Something needs to happen here, and quickly. Someone needs to put the house in order. We obviously cannot go on with a divided, suspicious top brass preoccupied with intrigue and all sorts of plots. We must not have the decay that had spread everywhere in the country also spreading deep into the IDF. Sacred cow or not, if this happens, we can go ahead and just turn off the light.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.19.10, 00:46
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