Lessons of War / War could have been shorter

[spindrifter]

Haaretz.com
Tue., August 29, 2006 Elul 5, 5766

By Ze'ev Schiff

On July 18, the sixth day of war with Hezbollah, a meeting was held in Jerusalem between Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Military Intelligence head Major General Amos Yadlin and the security cabinet. In their assessment, Halutz and Yadlin told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the ministers that Israel had essentially achieved most of its aims in the war.

The implication was that it was possible, at that stage, to accept a cease-fire called for by the government of Lebanon and Hezbollah. However, the matter was not brought to a vote and the war lasted another 34 days.

Why was this option not discussed? Was the cabinet merely a debate club? How were the major decisions of the war made? This is one example of how the decision-making process worked. For example, what went on between the office of Defense Minister Amir Peretz and that of Olmert when it came to running the war?

However successful a military investigation into the war will be, it will not touch these questions. It will deal with the decision-making in the top ranks of the IDF. If a commission of inquiry is set up, whatever kind it may be, it will not be able to ignore these issues. The question of whether Israel could have stopped the war at an earlier stage is only one important example of the issues involved.

<more>

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/755390.html

[whistle]

1. What explains all of this is in "War is a Racket"....

<snip>
~ Chapter Five ~
TO HELL WITH WAR!

I am not a fool as to believe that war is a thing of the past. I know the people do not want war, but there is no use in saying we cannot be pushed into another war.

Looking back, Woodrow Wilson was re-elected president in 1916 on a platform that he had "kept us out of war" and on the implied promise that he would "keep us out of war." Yet, five months later he asked Congress to declare war on Germany.

In that five-month interval the people had not been asked whether they had changed their minds. The 4,000,000 young men who put on uniforms and marched or sailed away were not asked whether they wanted to go forth to suffer and die.

Then what caused our government to change its mind so suddenly?

Money. <more>

from: War is a Racket published in 1935 by Round Table Press, Inc., New York
by: General Smedley D. Butler

http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/racket.html

[bemildred]

2. Or heck, we could have skipped the whole thing.

Went straight to negotiations or something.
:crazy: