By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
TEL AVIV (May 20) - Reports yesterday about senior officers and
field commanders in the security zone advocating a withdrawal
from Lebanon drew accusations that the IDF is hiding the voices
of those who dissent from the General Staff position.
The IDF Spokesman denied the allegations and reiterated that
the army's opposition to a unilateral withdrawal has not changed.
On Sunday, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz gathered
brigade commanders in the North to discuss IDF activity in south
Lebanon, Israel Radio reported yesterday. Mofaz reportedly told
them to speak their minds and that the IDF brass would discuss
the matter later.
One brigade commander said that the Four Mothers organization,
which calls for a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, is
"illegitimate."
"We can't carry out the mission under the present restrictions. If
we stay in Lebanon," he was quoted as saying, "I can't carry out
my mission, so we have to get out of Lebanon now."
Another brigade commander was quoted as saying that the IDF
isn't allowed to operate in Lebanon and therefore it has nothing
to do in the security zone.
Yet a third commander said staying in Lebanon is weakening the
IDF. Both the Givati and Golani brigade commanders reportedly
said the IDF has to get out of Lebanon.
According to Israel Radio, the commander of the Paratroop
Brigade was "one of the few" who said that army doesn't choose
its missions, but carries out government policy.
Many commanders also criticized Brig.-Gen. (res.) Giora Inbar, a
former head of the liaison unit to Lebanon, who recently said in
an interview that the IDF is in a no win situation and needs to
leave Lebanon now. The commanders were angry that Inbar had
waited until after he retired this year to say these things, instead
of speaking up while in the army.
It was the first time that such a large group of commanders
serving in Lebanon criticized the IDF's presence in Lebanon and
the restrictions on them.
IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Oded Ben-Ami, dismissed the report.
"The IDF never hid any officer," he said, "and it does not hide
opinions. We never said that there are officers who don't have
dissenting opinions, but today the General Staff... is convinced
that without an arrangement there is no room for a unilateral
withdrawal from Lebanon."
Tourism Minister Moshe Katsav said later that, as a member of
the security cabinet, he never heard any assessments from
officers who held a position contrary to the position presented by
Mofaz.
"Now I hear that they have other opinions and I think this was a
mistake. We have to be allowed to hear other opinions," Katsav
said, adding that former defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai
always maintained that there were no dissenting opinions in the
IDF.
"Members of the security cabinet shouldn't have to do
clandestine investigation to hear dissenting opinions," Katsav
told Israel Radio. "The IDF and the chief of General Staff would
have done better to allow officers with other opinions and
assessments to present them before the security cabinet."
Ben-Ami denied that the IDF had ever turned down a cabinet
request to speak to any officer.
The renewed debate came as Defense Minister Moshe Arens
met with Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak to coordinate a transfer
of power, officials said. The recent events in Lebanon were high
on the agenda.
Matan Vilna'i, a former deputy chief of staff and MK-elect for One
Israel, said that Barak intends to put together a team that will deal
with Lebanon immediately after he takes office.
Analysts believe Barak has three options in Lebanon - a variation
of the status quo, a unilateral withdrawal, and a deal with Syria.
"We have had a fairly conservative policy regarding south
Lebanon. But it is an extraordinary uncomfortable policy. Except
for negotiations with Syria, any other step will only be marginal,"
said Shai Feldman, who heads Tel Aviv University's Jaffee
Centre for Strategic Studies.
"The difference now is that the next government intends to make
major progress with Syria," Feldman said.