Reports: Israel ready before Lebanon war
By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Mar 9, 3:46 PM ET
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told an investigative panel that
Israel began planning for war in Lebanon months before last summer's conflict against Hezbollah guerrillas, countering criticism that he was caught off guard and acted too hastily in launching the military operation, officials said Friday.
The account, first reported in the Haaretz and Maariv dailies, gave the first details of Olmert's testimony to the commission investigating the government's management of the much-criticized war. The commission, whose findings could determine Olmert's political future, is expected to release a preliminary report in the coming weeks.
Although Olmert's office declined comment Friday on the reports, people close to the prime minister, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the press, said the accounts were accurate. Senior Israeli military officers disputed Olmert's reported version of events.
The 34-day war was triggered last July 12 after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed Israel's northern border, killed three soldiers and returned to Lebanon with two captured Israeli soldiers.
In his testimony on Feb. 1, Olmert told the commission that he held numerous meetings long before the war to discuss a possible conflict with Hezbollah, Haaretz said Thursday.
The first took place Jan. 8, 2006, days after Olmert replaced the incapacitated
Ariel Sharon as prime minister. Olmert said Sharon had asked the army to prepare a list of Lebanese targets after a failed kidnapping attempt by Hezbollah in November 2005, Haaretz said.
Olmert reportedly told the commission that the decision to respond to a kidnapping with a broad military operation was made at a meeting in March, four months before the war.
At the gathering, he said he asked military officials about their plans if a soldier was abducted. He looked at various proposals and decided on a plan that included air attacks and a limited ground operation, according to the reports.
According to the accounts, Olmert told the officers he did not want to make a snap decision in the case of an abduction. "When it happens, I want to be ready, not to start the discussions from the beginning under pressure," Maariv quoted him as saying.
Senior military officials disputed Olmert's account. "If there was a decision beforehand on how to respond, the army wasn't aware of it," said a commander who testified to the commission.
The commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing confidential information, said the army knew that a kidnapping would require a severe response. "But only when the kidnapping took place, did they begin to think how to respond."
While the war initially enjoyed wide support, it has been widely criticized for failing to meet the government's two main objectives: returning the two captured soldiers and destroying Hezbollah. Soldiers returning from the battlefield also have complained of poor training, contradictory orders and a lack of food and ammunition.
Despite a heavy Israeli onslaught, Hezbollah fired some 4,000 rockets into northern Israel before a U.N.-brokered cease-fire took hold. Olmert also has been criticized for ordering a large ground assault shortly before the truce went into effect. More than 30 soldiers were killed in the last-minute offensive.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the army chief during the conflict, resigned in January after months of criticism. The final findings of the government commission, which reportedly are months away, could also determine the fate of Defense Minister Amir Peretz.
Public approval ratings of Olmert and Peretz have plunged since the war, which killed 159 Israelis including 39 civilians hit by Hezbollah rockets.
More than 1,000 people were killed on the Lebanese side, according to tallies by government agencies, humanitarian groups and The Associated Press. The count includes 250 Hezbollah fighters that the group's leaders now say died during Israel's intense air, ground and sea bombardments in Lebanon. Israel has estimated its forces have killed 600 Hezbollah fighters.