Israeli Soldiers Speak About Gaza

This information comes from Sam Bahour, a telecomm entrepreneur in Ramallah (www.epalestine.com):

Yesterday MSNBC and the Haaretz newspaper in Jerusalem both featured news about Israeli soldiers' frank discussions of how the war on Gaza was conducted--in contradiction to official Israeli news releases during the attacks in December-January, "Operation Cast Lead." Watch a 2.5-minute report on MSNBC NightlyNews (March 19, 2009) (2:24 minutes):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=29779841&#29782064

Read the March 20 article in Haaretz, which includes excerpts from the transcripts of soldiers recounting their experiences in the Gaza war: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072475.html

'Shooting and crying'
By Amos Harel

Less than a month after the end of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, dozens of graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory program convened at Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tivon. Since 1998 the program has prepared participants for what is considered meaningful military service. Many assume command positions in combat and other elite units of the Israel Defense Forces. The program's founder, Danny Zamir, still heads it today and also serves as deputy battalion commander in a reserve unit.

The previous Friday, February 13, Zamir had invited combat soldiers and officers who graduated the program for a lengthy discussion of their experiences in Gaza. They spoke openly, but also with considerable frustration.

Following are extensive excerpts from the transcript of the meeting, as it appears in the program's bulletin, Briza, which was published on Wednesday. The names of the soldiers have been changed to preserve their anonymity. The editors have also left out some of the details concerning the identity of the units that operated in a problematic way in Gaza.

Danny Zamir: "I don't intend for us to evaluate the achievements and the diplomatic-political significance of Operation Cast Lead this evening, nor need we deal with the systemic military aspect [of it]. However, discussion is necessary because this was, all told, an exceptional war action in terms of the history of the IDF, which has set new limits for the army's ethical code and that of the State of Israel as a whole.

"This is an action that sowed massive destruction among civilians. It is not certain that it was possible do have done it differently, but ultimately we have emerged from this operation and are not facing real paralysis from the Qassams. It is very possible that we will repeat such an operation on a larger scale in the years to come, because the problem in the Gaza Strip is not simple and it is not at all certain that it has been solved. What we want this evening is to hear from the fighters." Read the rest of the article... http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072475.html