Even as Halutz was declaring victory, [early morning of the first 24 hours of the war against Hezbollah] 12 Israeli soldiers from the Maglan reconnaissance unit were already running into an ambush just over the border inside Lebanon near the village of Maroun a-Ras.
“We didn't know what hit us,” said one of the soldiers, who asked to be named only as Gad. “In seconds we had two dead.”
With several others wounded and retreating under heavy fire the Maglans, one of the finest units in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), were astonished by the firepower and perseverance of Hezbollah.
“Evidently they had never heard that an Arab soldier is supposed to run away after a short engagement with the Israelis,” said Gad.
“We expected a tent and three Kalashnikovs - that was the intelligence we were given. Instead, we found a hydraulic steel door leading to a well-equipped network of tunnels.”
I won't quote too much of it, but suggest it's worth a look. Even after this, well into the second week, Israel announced preparations for heavy ground fighting in Southern Lebanon. That was delayed at the time, presumably because someone thought to point out the Hezbollah dug in positions again.
It seems that it was not simply that the intelligence was poor; what was obviously known after the first few days seemed to be quickly forgotten.
Halutz's early false optimism should have served as a wake up call, instead it presaged a series of miscalculations and blunders.
UPDATE:They might be in a bit of a mess, but...
Israel has appointed a top general to oversee a war against Iran, prompting speculation that it is preparing for possible military action against Teheran's nuclear programme.
Maj Gen Elyezer Shkedy, Israel's air force chief, will be overall commander for the "Iran front", according to military sources spoken to by The Sunday Telegraph.
3 comments:
And still after that, they didn't learn. They're just like America's defense department. remember how they said that Iraq was going to be a cakewalk?
Bloody amazing, but yes apparently so.
kvatch, don't you just hate that we keep saying the same thing over and over? It's like pissing into the wind.
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