Judge Eliyahu Winograd
Photo: Tomeriko
Winograd Commission
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
'Winograd report will hold up a mirror to Israel's face'
Source involved in work of commission probing failures of Second Lebanon War tells Ynet core of report to be released Wednesday will deal with Israeli army ethos, interface between IDF and Israeli society
The final Winograd report
will hold up a mirror to the Israeli society's face, a source involved in the work of the commission probing the failures of the Second Lebanon War
told Ynet on Tuesday evening, as the political arena and the senior military echelon prepared for the release of the report Wednesday.
A day before the report's publication, it appeared that its aim was not to prompt resignations, but rather to draw lessons and prepare the State of Israel
for the coming years.
According to the source, the core of the report will deal with the ethos of the Israeli army and with the interface between the IDF and the Israeli society.
Political Arena
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The final report will be comprised of an analysis of the fighting, including the IDF principle and issues such as the army's preparedness, the building of power, the activation of power, the battle's results, the commanders' training and the motivation perception.
The report will also deal with the decisions of the political echelon, including the decision on the truce conditions and the fighting on the last two days after the United Nations Security Council adopted the ceasefire resolution.
In addition, the report will look at the relations between the political and military echelon in terms of the use of military power as part of a strategic perception of the State of Israel's objectives, the general ethos of the Israeli society and its link to the State's challengers, the handling of the home front in terms of preparedness, the operational perception, and the home front and local authorities' actions (in accordance with the State Comptroller's report).
A member of the Winograd Commission recently told Ynet that "the final report is expected to be dramatic and decisive."
According to the source, the report may have extreme implications and will include harsh findings on the killing of 33 soldiers in the ground operation on the last 48 hours of the war.
The interim report, published last April, which pointed to the personal and functional failures of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the entire government, dealt with the decision to launch the war and the first five days of the fighting.
Although the report is not expected to include personal recommendations, sources following the commission's work recently told Ynet that "as opposed to what many people think, the commission will use a harsh and specific tone against those responsible for the war's events."
