Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Winograd member:Disturbing similarities between Gaza, Lebanon wars

Prof. Ruth Gabizon says that like war against Hizbullah in 2006, goals of recent military offensive in Strip were unclear and it ended with 'insufficient ceasefire'

"Israel(Kadima's Leadership) has a tendency to belittle its enemies," said Prof. Ruth Gabizon, a former member of the Winograd Committee, which probed the failures of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Speaking at conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies on Wednesday, Gabizon said "we like to call them (enemies) terrorists; we look down on them and underestimate their legitimacy.
"We must understand that we are facing a stubborn enemy that will not surrender easily. They are very serious as far as their sense of righteousness is concerned," she said.
Gabizon claimed that part of the failure in Lebanon stemmed from the fact that the war's goals were unclear, saying that the situation was similar to the one the IDF faced during the recent offensive in Gaza.
The professor said that both wars ended with an "insufficient" ceasefire, adding that "the conflict in Gaza is not over."