"There were cases in which officers did not carry out their assignments, and cases in which officers objected on moral grounds to their orders," he said, an apparent reference to resistance against attacking south Lebanese towns and villages.
Halutz said these instances of refusal "ran counter to the army's basic values." He said a senior officer was suspended as a result.
Halutz said it would be a mistake to declare a military goal of freeing the two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border Hezbollah raid, which set off the fighting — though that was one of the goals stated at the outset of the conflict.
I noted the problems with the ground campaign here and complained about the unwise focus on the soldiers here.
I remain surprised that the Israelis did not sack Olmert for this botched opportunity.
Israel's enemies will strike again convinced they are just one more campaign away from destroying Israel. Israel will learn from the summer and fight better next time. They won't dither in smashing their foe.
