November 08, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
• Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, messages were delivered to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi: if he continues to oppose the ground war, he could face the same fate. Halevi had argued that everything feasible had been accomplished, and what remains is beyond reach. Both know that ‘accomplishments’ thus far have involved killing civilians, and destroying homes and infrastructure, while the resistance has been steadily killing officers, soldiers, and destroying enemy vehicles, preventing any prolonged presence.
This is not the ‘non-occupation doctrine’ that the head of the Lebanese Forces would like to credit the enemy with – insisting that the occupying forces have no interest in occupation. If that were truly the case, why did the entity occupy Lebanese lands for nearly twenty years before being compelled to withdraw? He should also explain how the occupying army plans to push the resistance back beyond the Litani River if it isn’t already fortifying itself in occupied areas and advancing toward the Litani through continued occupation. While it’s unfortunate that a Lebanese figure would credit the occupying forces with unearned achievements, there is some relief in knowing that both Netanyahu and Halevi recognize that Geagea’s words aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
• Netanyahu knows the army has failed, but he wants it to keep trying. However Halevi is aware that from a scientific stance repeating the same experiment with the same conditions, components and circumstances yields the same outcome, thus he initially resisted further operations.
• Halevi recently agreed, aiming to stay in his position, fully aware that the conditions have changed – to the worse. What seemed achievable at the outset of the ground operation has, through experience, proven impossible. The army, already exhausted from Gaza, is unprepared to face formidable fighters awaiting it. And now, after losing many soldiers, officers, and much of its morale in battle, it no longer resembles the force it was upon leaving Gaza. The recent replenishment of military units relied on reservists, less skilled, less capable, and with weaker fighting spirit than those sidelined by injuries.
• Halevi is pushing the army beyond its limits, risking a collapse that could lead it to outright disintegration. Perhaps he needs a ‘thinker’ like Dr. Geagea to convince his defeated officers and soldiers that they’ve actually won. After all, every army at war needs a morale officer, and it seems the occupying force’s position is glaringly vacant – yet there’s a five-star candidate eagerly waiting!
