'I have complete faith in you.' Ashkenazi
Photo: Yotam Frum
Army chief: We're ready to expand Gaza activity
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi tells hundreds of senior IDF officers 'army is prepared to expand its activity in accordance with the (government's) decisions.' Southern Command chief: Gaza will soon reach boiling point
"The army is prepared to expand its activity in accordance with the (government's) decisions," IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said
Monday.
On the heels of the harsh criticism cast against the conduct of the military's top brass during the Second Lebanon War in the Winograd Comission's final report, a determined Ashkenazi told hundreds of senior officers holding the ranked of colonel or higher that "2008 will be filled with security-related challenges, and the army must be ready to face them".
Referring to the Winograd report's conclusion that the army's most fundamental values had been compromised during the 2006 campaign, the army chief told the officers "I have complete faith in you and in the IDF's ability to meet the challenges.
"Only we can defend the home and country," he added."
Southern Command Chief Major General Yoav Galant, who also addressed the conference, said Gaza would soon reach its boiling point. Officers who heard his speech said they believed Galant was in favor of launching a large-scale operation in the Strip.
On Sunday Air Force Commander, Brig. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi said during a visit to the Druze village of Julis in the Western Galilee that "the continuing Qassam attacks will at the end of the day obligate us (to carry out) a wide scale operation in the Strip.
"Terrorists on the (separation) fence and ongoing rocket fire is intolerable," he said.
