Israeli reservists, in a scathing open letter published on Monday, accused government leaders and top army officers of inept handling of the war in Lebanon and called for a broad investigation of their actions.

The letter, which appeared in the newspaper Haaretz, was signed by hundreds of veterans of the Lebanon campaign, the left-leaning daily said.

An Israeli general said the military had been "guilty of the sin of arrogance" in its approach to the 34-day battle against Hizbollah guerrillas, remarks that appeared to justify growing public criticism of the conduct of the campaign.

"I failed to prepare the infantry better for war," Brigadier-General Yossi Heiman, the outgoing chief infantry and paratroops officer, told troops on Sunday in comments broadcast a day later and not directly related to the reservist manifesto.

In the letter, troops of the Spearhead Paratroop Brigade did not challenge the decision to go to war after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, reflecting a national consensus the campaign was justified.

But they raised questions about how the government and senior officers conducted a war in which the Israeli military failed to deliver a knockout blow to the Lebanese group or prevent it from firing nearly 4,000 missiles into Israel.

"At the back of his mind, each and every one of us knew, that for the just cause of protecting the citizens of Israel, we would even put our lives on the line," said the letter, published a week after a ceasefire went into effect.

"But there was one thing we were not and would not be willing to accept: We were unwilling to accept indecisiveness."

"COLD FEET"

The soldiers, who were called up for duty on July 30, said "the cold feet" of decision-makers was evident everywhere.

"The indecisiveness manifested itself in inaction, in not carrying out operational plans, and in canceling all the missions we were given during the fighting," the petition said.

"This led to prolonged stays in hostile territory without an operational purpose and out of unprofessional considerations, without seeking to engage in combat with the enemy."

Accusing the army of failing to prepare properly for war against Hizbollah, the reservists demanded "a thorough and worthy investigative commission under the auspices of the state".

Such a commission would have broader powers, including a mandate to investigate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other cabinet members, than an inquiry panel, set up by Defense Minister Amir Peretz, that began work on Sunday.

Olmert indicated on Sunday that he might order a wider inquiry going beyond the Peretz-appointed panel, which is examining only the military and the defense ministry.

One security official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters that military intelligence on Hizbollah's strength and positions in southern Lebanon had been inadequate.

The official said troops were often sent into villages with little idea of the type of opposition they would face.

Reservists have formed the backbone of Israel's fighting forces in past wars.

After the 1973 Middle East war, in which Egypt and Syria scored initial successes that caused heavy Israeli casualties, demobilized reservists were at the forefront of public criticism that ultimately forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.

Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon and 157 Israelis were killed in the latest conflict in which villages across southern Lebanon and areas of Beirut were heavily damaged by Israeli air strikes, and northern Israel was shut down by Hizbollah rockets.

© Reuters 2006

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