Israeli Defense Chief Resigns Amid Lebanon War Investigations
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, has resigned amid ongoing investigations into Israel's botched invasion of Lebanon. Imagine, someone in government actually taking responsibility for a failed military adventure. What a concept!Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, has resigned amid ongoing investigations into Israel’s botched invasion of Lebanon. Imagine, someone in government actually taking responsibility for a failed military adventure. What a concept!
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...BBC:
Gen. Halutz told PM Ehud Olmert he was quitting “as investigations have run their course,” Reuters news agency quoted an army spokeswoman as saying.
Several internal inquiries are being conducted into the government and the army’s handling of the 34-day conflict.
The military was widely criticised for failing to achieve its war aims.
Israel attacked the Lebanon-based Hezbollah after the group captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid last July.
But Israel failed to free the soldiers or soundly defeat Hezbollah before a ceasefire ended the fighting in August.
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The Israel prime minister has been accused of accepting gifts from wealthy allies, trading influence for favorable press coverage and more.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be where he is today without the corruption charges that toppled the government of his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, in 2009. Although Olmert (above) is not quite out of the woods, he was cleared of two major allegations Tuesday.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being tried on charges of corruption that allegedly occurred while he was Jerusalem's mayor and later a Cabinet member. Olmert maintains his innocence, claiming a three-year smear campaign forced him to resign as prime minister a year ago.
The assault on Gaza exposed not only Israel’s callous disregard for international law but the gutlessness of the American press. Nearly all reporters were, as during the buildup to the Iraq war, pliant stenographers and echo chambers.
The BBC reports: "Any Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip will be given state protection from prosecution overseas, the country's PM has said." At issue is Israel's use of white phosphorous, a chemical agent that is not permitted in densely populated areas because it sticks to and severely burns human tissue.
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