harel

Tuesday, November 24, 1998

In South Lebanon, another change in tactics

By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Military Correspondent

                  Entrenched by the northwestern edge of the south Lebanon
                  security zone, the Rotem outpost is now completely
                  protected. A reinforced concrete roof covers the space
                  between the rooms. The mortar fire, coming every few days
                  from Hezbollah and Amal guns in an adjacent wadi, hardly
                  make an impact. This, in a cement-shell, is the IDF's
                  situation in Lebanon in late 1998: a protected, jacketed
                  army conducting missions in the decreasing maneuvering
                  room left by the political echelon.

                  Officers don't know what to do with the space created
                  underneath. Until a few years ago, soldiers played
                  basketball here. Today no one ventures out without helmet
                  and flak jacket.

                  Installing additional protective measures is currently the
                  main project in Lebanon. Without them, IDF casualties
                  would have been much higher this year.

                  Since early this year, there have been over one thousand
                  incidents of enemy fire (some anti-tank weapons, mainly
                  mortars), which is five times more than two years ago.
                  Thus, these measures are a function of change in fighting
                  methods. As usual, when the army identifies a problem
                  (often, too late) it goes all out to solve it. Millions have been
                  invested in reinforcing outposts, making them nearly
                  impenetrable.

                  But it's just another vicious cycle characteristic of the
                  conflict in Lebanon. In the end, Hezbollah, because of the
                  IDF's defensive actions, will have to seek newer, deadlier,
                  fighting methods and then the IDF will seek new solutions
                  and so on.

                  The familiar rituals recur with tragic regularity. Three Golani
                  soldiers killed last week by a Hezbollah landmine some 30
                  meters away from Tel Kaba'a outpost in the central sector,
                  or yesterday's three soldiers were wounded by mortar fire.

                  Each time, the incident briefly reopens public debate over
                  Israel's presence in Lebanon. But up north, they aren't so
                  sure that the public elsewhere understands what's really
                  going on in the security zone.

                  Up north, they think the media is exaggerating the situation
                  and they expressed reservations about the news coverage.
                  One soldier commented that "there are more soldiers
                  guarding Hebron settlers than there are in this area." Yaniv
                  Granot, a Nahal soldier from Rehovot, thinks the media is
                  presenting "an unreliable, defeatist picture. The media
                  represents a particular interest - to get the soldiers out of
                  here as soon as possible, and it writes things so that will
                  happen."

                  What Granot doesn't know is that the army is actually to
                  blame for the remote media coverage of Lebanon. Since
                  the beginning of this year, correspondents' visits to the
                  security zone have been sharply curtailed.

                  But, this is approach is misguided. Hezbollah is using the
                  Israeli media vacuum for its own purposes, and the IDF,
                  perhaps unjustly, is perceived as having something to hide.
                  Sometimes the "Four Mothers" movement, which wants an
                  immediate, unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, seems to
                  have more effective public relations than the IDF
                  spokesperson in Lebanon.

                  A casual survey of soldiers in various places inside and out
                  of Lebanon indicates that most 19 and 20-year-olds in the
                  security zone are clear about their mission and have no
                  reservations.

                  Nahal soldiers manning the Rotem outpost say the problem
                  is at home. "Most parents know we are in Lebanon. It's
                  better that they know. But I know soldiers who would rather
                  not tell them," says Ramat Gan resident Amir Lev. "My
                  parents are really proud of me," says Yaniv Granot. "They
                  won't try to stop me from going to Lebanon, but, of course,
                  serving here raises political questions at home." Another
                  soldier, Amir Lev stated that "there's too much time to
                  dream about a clash, but it's absolutely clear that I'm here to
                  protect the communities. I came to fulfill this mission, not to
                  seek adventure."

                  Their previous mission was in Gaza, and like every soldier
                  they know, they prefer Lebanon, all for the same reasons.
                  "Here the mission is clear. You see someone in front of
                  you, you have to fire at him. In Gaza, coping is much
                  harder," says Granot. "The population there is difficult, both
                  from the point of view of its behavior and its goals." Is he
                  talking about the Palestinians? "Are you kidding?" he
                  answers, "the settlers!"

                  How is victory measured in Lebanon? Amiram Levine's
                  analysis referred to the status quo, not to a decisive result.
                  The IDF is ostensibly there to protect residents of the north,
                  he argued in internal army discussions, but the fact that the
                  Shiite organizations are not firing katyushas is not
                  necessarily because we are preventing them, but because
                  we are not annoying them too much.

                  If we kill too many of them (the distinction between civilian
                  and military is blurred in Lebanon), they will respond with
                  katyushas. A kind of balance of fear has been created
                  whereby neither side is interested in making its opponents'
                  lives too miserable. Levine felt that the way to maintain low
                  IDF casualties required an ongoing offensive that would
                  keep Hezbollah away from the security zone. The current
                  method favored by the defense minister and chief of staff's
                  is to reinforce outposts. But, will this lead to an
                  abandonment of the offensive initiative, which would in turn
                  create a new vacuum and renew Hezbollah efforts?

                  "We get many attacks here," says western brigade
                  commander Colonel Alon, "for every mortar bomb fired at
                  us, I can fire 100 back, but if the 99th hits a house in the
                  village and costs us katyushas on Nahariya, that's
                  dangerous. There are days when we respond aggressively
                  and days when I give an order to swallow it because I want
                  100,000 tourists to visit Goren Park on Rosh Hashana."

                  Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair,
                  Likud MK Uzi Landau, has another solution. "The real
                  problem is the policy imposing controlled rules of
                  engagement on the IDF. We don't even ask ourselves how
                  the opposite side freely dispatches terrorist organizations
                  unhindered. We need to change the rules in Lebanon to
                  create symmetry with the Syrians. Syrian soldiers can also
                  be hit by explosive devices and the Syrian economy in
                  Lebanon can also be affected."

                  Earlier this year, the IDF saw some improvement. Dozens
                  of Amal and Hezbollah fighters were injured after the army
                  made tactical adjustments in its assault patterns. The
                  volume of operations was huge. This was urged by Amiram
                  Levine in pre-retirement interviews. But lately, the IDF has
                  been striking less frequently at the guerrilla fighters. Did the
                  spirit of change depart with Levine? Some army officials
                  note extreme caution in operations and fear its impact on
                  tactics and morale: "It's easier to explain the death of a
                  comrade in a clash in which terrorists were killed than a
                  death from a roadside charge or mortar. The soldiers
                  cannot be allowed to feel as though they are punching
                  bags."

                  But a senior officer says, "we haven't changed anything, but
                  when you send soldiers on a mission, you calculate very
                  carefully the necessity and risk entailed. This approach
                  applies to every security zone operation, not just to those
                  beyond the dark mountains."

                  Behind these remarks lies the IDF's usual trap in Lebanon.
                  Northern Command is in an impossible bind. IDF-initiated
                  operations may entail heavy casualties, but staying holed
                  up in the outposts gives Hezbollah greater freedom of
                  operation and lead to more losses.

                  Meanwhile, the document advocating departure from
                  Lebanon, prepared by the previous head of the Command
                  staff, Brigadier General Shai Avital, is practically forgotten
                  and the prime minister's withdrawal initiative according to
                  resolution 425 is more frozen than his smile when meeting
                  with Yasser Arafat.

                  Last week, military intelligence chief Amos Malka reiterated
                  the mantra that Hezbollah will not be satisfied with a
                  unilateral IDF withdrawal to the international border and
                  that whoever thinks otherwise is "naive or fantasizing." But
                  this week several ministers said that if the IDF says us
                  unilateral withdrawal is possible, it must be considered.

                  An officer not involved in ongoing Lebanon operations says
                  Northern Command is overall doing a fine job of carrying
                  out its mission. "As long as the number of casualties
                  doesn't exceed the average, the army is doing what the
                  political echelon expects of it; the rest is a matter for the
                  ministers. Occasionally, it seems to me the senior officers'
                  problem is one of ego: they take upon themselves
                  responsibility for things that should be politicians'
                  responsibility.