His masters' ear

[bemildred]

In July 2006, four days after the Second Lebanon War had erupted, when his former comrades-in-arms were saying, "let the Israel Defense Forces win," Major General (res.) Uri Saguy told Haaretz: "Decision makers think they know everything. They are living under the illusion that Israel can continue to attack as much as it wants, and that nothing will happen in the world. We are approaching the limits of military power."

The man who headed Military Intelligence (MI) from 1991 to 1995, and who also served as GOC Southern Command and as commander of the ground forces, advised the chief of staff at the time, Dan Halutz - who was promising to "exact a price from Hezbollah" - that he take into account that Israel would not get off cheaply from the confrontation in the North. Referring to an IDF artillery shell that was mistakenly directed onto a UN compound in Lebanon in 1996, killing more than 100 locals who had taken refuge there, Saguy warned, or prophesied, that "hitches like Kafr Kana will imprint in the collective consciousness that Israel attacks the civilians of a neighboring country and has perhaps brought about the fall of Lebanon's weak government."

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"You need to ask the political leaders who are proposing to take control of the Gaza Strip by force - on the assumption that this is possible - what they see happening on the day after. Taking control of the Gaza Strip would entail a large number of casualties. The more casualties there are, the more impassioned both sides become. I have heard a very senior cabinet minister propose steep- trajectory firing on the Palestinians. This expresses great distress. Extensive firing will hit innocent people and will not advance our interests. Even if we have to suffer casualties among our civilian population. We can't allow ourselves this."

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"Hamas is more dangerous than a terror organization, because it is also a religious and political organization. It is possible to overcome a terror organization by means of military might, but not a movement that has ideological roots. Even though this may sound like a paradox, our interest is similar to that of Hamas. We both want quiet. They are interested in completing the total conquest of the Gaza Strip, and so it is important to them that we not take control of it. For us it is important to protect the lives of the civilians of Sderot and Ashkelon.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961724.html