Posted on 01/22/2007 12:42:15 PM PST by Makehaven
The new commander of the Israeli army will be reserve general Gabi Ashkenazi, the government said Monday. He replaces Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, who resigned last week under stiff criticism for the military's performance in last summer's inconclusive war in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas.
Ashkenazi, now the director of the Defense Ministry, was the deputy chief of staff and commander of the northern front in previous postings. He left the army two years ago with the rank of major general when Halutz was appointed chief of staff instead of him.
The resignation of Halutz increased pressure on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz to follow his example and resign. Public support of both leaders has plummeted since the war.
Moshe Yaalon, who preceded Halutz as military chief of staff, called Monday for Peretz to step down.
Ashkenazi, a gruff infantry commander, got the job after his only competitor, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, withdrew his candidacy Sunday.
Halutz was the first former air force chief to head the army.
Many complained of over-reliance on air power in the Lebanon war, and both of the candidates for the army's top job this time around, Ashkenazi and Kaplinsky, were infantry officers believed able to upgrade Israel's ground forces.
Ashkenazi, 53, a retired major general, fought as a young infantryman in the 1973 Mideast War and took part in Israel's rescue of more than 100 hostages held by Palestinian and German hijackers at Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976. He served as an officer in the first Lebanon war in 1982, and then oversaw the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from south Lebanon in 2000.
The confirmation process, which requires final approval by the Israeli Cabinet, is expected to take several days.
The leaders of any Army should ALWAYS come from an infantry background, ALWAYS.
Olmert will be out soon. Israel is putting in place the team it needs to defeat Iran and Syria within the next two years.
So why are we putting an admiral in charge if Centcom ops in Iraq?
Has to be PC. My apologies to anyone it may offend, but unless you have had boots on the ground, you don't know what the heck is really going on.
Only if we are going to try to win something with airpower, alone. It has never worked. Why should we try it again.
Because any strike on Iran will rely heavily on naval assets. Specifically carrier based planes and sub based cruise missiles.
And the United States Gyrene Corps?
I hear this admiral lost face in the Pacific when a Chinese sub surfaced undetected in the security zone of a US carrier. I gotta think Iran also has quiet diesel subs lurking in the Gulf.
Our ASW sux big time.
Any significant strike on Iranian facilities will require the incapacitation of their air defenses. This is a primary mission of naval assets, followed closely by Air Force strikes. I seriously doubt any direct involvement of land forces such as the USMC or the US Army, although Special Forces and Marine air assets will be used.
Kudos to this brave officer who received his baptism of fire at Entebbe.
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