Israeli colonel attacks army

[cal04]

Commander says reservists were ill-prepared for battle in Lebanon and officers were out of touch

An Israeli brigade commander who was a key player in the Lebanon war has accused senior army officers of being badly out of touch with events on the ground and of exposing soldiers to unnecessary risks.

Amid widening recriminations in Israel that are threatening to bring down the government, Colonel Amnon Eshel, commander of the 7th tank division, in an interview accused his division commander of being insensitive towards the plight of reservists who were called up at a moment's notice and ill-prepared.

Talking about events leading up to the ground operation Amnon said: 'I realised there was a problem with the readiness of the reserve regiment to carry out its mission. The regiment commander told me he was not ready. So I went to the division commander ... he told me: "I don't care, we're going in".'

Amnon returned to his division commander twice to request the order be changed and was rejected both times. In the end, he said, he subverted his orders because of his fears of mass casualties. Amnon, who made the claims in an interview with award-winning Israeli film director Nurit Kedar, commanded thousands of soldiers on the eastern section of the south Lebanon front.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1859324,00.html

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Wonder what he thinks about our debacle in Iraq?

The screw-ups over start right at the top.

[SeaBob]

2. I Colonel

remember folks when a colonel or gener complains it means that his side cant kill enough of his opponents. War is all about killing and destruction nothing else

[IndianaGreen]

3. "I don't care, we're going in".'

Reserve soldiers make up 70 per cent of the Israeli army and, unlike the rest of the army, they are free to speak out. Many have echoed Amnon's concerns.

One, protesting in Jerusalem last week, said: 'Reservists got bad treatment, bad equipment and bad decisions.'

These soldiers' complaints are almost a carbon copy of the complaints heard from American National Guardsmen that served in Iraq.

Colonel Amnon Eshel's concerns parallel the concerns express by US Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki about the number and quality of troops Rumsfeld was planning to use in the invasion of Iraq.

In America we reward incompetence, as Bush awarded the Medal of Freedom to Ambassador Paul Bremer for a job well done. Bremer is the man that fired the entire Iraqi military, and act that led to a total breakdown of law and order.

Israel is different. I am glad that the military families and their loved ones in uniform are demonstrating demanding PM Olmert's scalp.

[tocqueville]

4. all this is spin to excuse a blatant military defeat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_2006_Israel-Lebanon_conflict
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Israel-Lebanon_conflict
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2006_Israel-Lebanon_conflict

what do you call it when a militia of 1000-10 000 men (probably 2000) takes maximum 500 casualties, destroys over 30 tanks, severely damages a warship and shoots down an helicopter, inflicts 120 casualties and wounds 400 soldiers of a 30 000 men army - considered so far to be the best and most modernly armed of the whole region.