Posted on 08/11/2010 5:17:03 AM PDT by SJackson
In Turkel Committee testimony, IDF chief says central mistake was not neutralizing those who prevented commandos from boarding Mavi Marmara, takes responsibility for flotilla raid.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the Turkel Committee on Wednesday that the IDF made a crucial mistake when it did not resort to accurate fire against those blocking entry to the Mavi Marmara Turkish aid ship as IDF Shayetet 13 commandos rappelled onto the ship from helicopters.
"The central mistake, including mine, was that we thought there were about 10-15 people on the ship, we will throw flash grenades, they will move away, and then we will be able to drop 15 soldiers in one minute," explained Ashkenazi. "Here was the real error. We should have managed conditions to accumulate power in the quickest way. There was need to fire with accurate weapons and neutralize those who prevented the rappelling down of soldiers, something that would have decreased the the risk of harm to them. That is the central lesson for the next operation."
When asked whether the plan needed to be changed after the first soldier boarded the ship, Ashkenazi stressed that the moment the soldier rappelled down from the chopper, there was no doubt that the operation needed to be continued. And that was the decision of the Navy chief.
"When someone comes at a soldier with an axe, the soldier will shoot," said the IDF chief.
He also added that the IDF did not have sufficient evidence on the IHH organization. "The level of knowledge the IDF had on the organization was not like the level of information we have on Hamas," or the Islamic Jihad. "We did not investigate the organization. It was not on our list of our priorities because it was not listed as a terror organization and was located in Turkey which is not an enemy state."
In a clear break from the strategy of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Ashkenazi took responsibility for the botched flotilla raid in late May during his testimony before then Turkel Committee.
Ashkenazi told the committee that he was responsible for all IDF operations and that as the representative of the entire military there was no reason to summon additional officers or soldiers to testify before the committee.
In contrast to Ashkenazi who took responsibility for the raid on the Marmara, which ended with nine dead Turkish nationals, Barak on Tuesday placed the blame on the IDF, which he said was responsible for warning the government if “the mission cannot be carried out.” In the case of the flotilla the IDF did not warn, Barak said.
Ashkenazi praised the commandos from the Navy’s Flotilla 13 who boarded the ship and, according to the IDF, were lynched by a group of mercenaries. He said that the second soldier who fast-roped onto the boat from a helicopter was immediately shot.
“The soldiers legitimately opened fire and shot those who they needed to shot and not those who they didn’t need to shoot,” he said.
“I am proud of the soldiers that we have,” Ashkenazi told the committee. “The IDF is a transparent organization that learns from each operation and knows how to investigate itself.”
Ashkenazi also stressed the importance in preventing ships from docking, without inspection, in the Gaza Strip.
“The sea blockade is crucial in preventing terror groups from smuggling large quantities of weaponry into Gaza by sea,” he said. “An open sea will increase the threat against Israel.”
Not an unreasonable position.
But.
It shows a remarkable lack of imagination. It is possible to deal with an axe-wielding jihadi in other ways than by shooting him. Weapons other than firearms do exist. For instance, axes. Soldiers can use them too.
The incident was a huge PR disaster for the Israelis, just as the attackers planned, and a major reason is that the IDF allowed itself to be portrayed as bringing guns to a stick and knife fight.
The IDF did exactly what the jihadis wanted it to do. Which as a general rule is a poor military tactic. The battlefield in this case was worldwide perception, and the Israelis were badly defeated.
Israel will never win the PR war. If it had let these terrorists enter Gaza, then THAT would have been portrayed as a PR loss for Israel as well. Heck, any course of action would have been portrayed as a PR loss.
This is why, IMO, Israel should have just sunk the boats and be done with with it. It reduces the number of terrorists overall, and creates a significant disincentive against other people from trying this stunt again.
The Israeli Navy has submarines, and the intended destination is obvious. Violation of a country’s territorial seas with intent to do harm is an act of war.
The only way to win a war is to defeat the enemy so soundly that no enemy will never again consider the possibility of attacking you again.
When your enemy understands that you do not fight by the Geneva Conventions or the Boy Scout book on politeness, that you are not interested in temporarily spiking your military industrial complex production numbers but your one and only goal is to obliterate all enemy bases, supply lines and forces that is when their commanders will take serious pause and consideration if the task is worth the cost.
This war is not being fought on the battlefield. It is against an enemy that has no real "bases and supply lines." Its forces are intentionally hidden among millions of innocents.
The war is being fought in the court of world public opinion, and the Israelis are losing badly.
Your prescription would work great if they, or we, were refighting WWII. We're not. The stupidest thing any army can do is insist on refighting the last war, simply because it's the one they know HOW to fight.
Short of killing all Arabs or all Muslims, you have any suggestions that might actually be effective?
Not jesting at all. Unless you think Muslims can fight hand to hand, but Israelis cannot.
Same thing with the cops who are apparently unable to think of any option when faced with a psycho with a knife or baseball bat other than to shoot him 25 times.
Is it risky? Sure. Is it potentially a better option than doing exactly what your enemy wants you to do? Possibly.
I do and it's quite simple actually. I even have a snappy name for it: "Kilometers For Kassams". It's got a nice ring to it. Here's how it works.
For every rocket, missile, or terrorist attack that occurs in Israel or on any Israeli interest anywhere in the world the Palis lose one kilometer of territory permanently.
A rocket comes out of Gaza? Israel cranks up the Caterpillars and the Merkvas and shoves the border back a kilometer closer to Egypt in Gaza.
Some idiot launches a mortar from the West Bank? The border gets shoved a kilometer closer to Jordan.
The loss of territory is permanent btw.
Shortly those monsters will either get with the program or be forced back into the countries they belong in anyway.
L
Do you really think a Arabian woman can’t wear a suicide vest?
I am guessing that you have never seen females or children carrying supplies for the Viet Cong. I have and I have no qualms about killing everyone within range who chooses to support the enemy forces.
Stupid. If someone comes at you with an axe, SHOOT THEM. If its a fair fight, you’re doing it wrong.
The Israelis are NEVER going to get good PR. They could have rescued these morons from a sinking ship and the media would have damned them.
They should forget about PR and go for stark FEAR. They should have extracted their people, sunk the damn ship and left survivors in the (heavily chummed) waters.
That’s true. Israel is often criticized for the “harm” done using tear gas or rubber bullets, when the rest of the region uses the real thing. But they’re good at dealing with “quasi” violent thugs. That expertiese obviously didn’t work it’s way up to this unit.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the Turkel Committee on Wednesday that the IDF made a crucial mistake when it did not resort to accurate fire against those blocking entry to the Mavi Marmara Turkish aid ship as IDF Shayetet 13 commandos rappelled onto the ship from helicopters.Should have sunk the vessels, and then nuked Turkey. But that's jmho. ;')
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