Halutz Resigns as Chief of Staff: Will Olmert, Peretz be Next or Will They Appoint a Lackey as COS?

UPDATED Halutz to General Staff: ‘I Won’t Leave in a Rush’, By Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)

Full Text;

Hours after dropping a bombshell by announcing his resignation, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz told the General Staff on Wednesday morning that he had faith in the IDF’s capability to continue dealing with threats Israel faced, and said he had no intention to “take [his] stuff and leave in a rush.”

Halutz said he planned to stay in place until a successor was chosen, and the changeover complete.

“I am confident in the IDF, its soldiers, and commanders, and that the military will be able to keep performing successfully all missions as they arrive,” Halutz told the general staff.

In a surprise move two weeks after declaring that he would remain in the army Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Dan Halutz submitted his resignation late Tuesday night to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

In his letter to Olmert and Peretz, Halutz said that he felt a responsibility as the military’s superior officer to remain in his position until the completion of the 50 internal probes into the performance of the military during the war, and until the IDF’s workplan for 2007 was completed. Once this was done, Halutz asked to leave his job immediately.

According to a source close to Halutz, Tuesday night’s decision for Halutz to resign was planned “from the beginning.”

“He wanting to investigate the IDF to the best of his ability,” the source close to the chief of staff said. “After he completed that task, and after creating the work plan, he decided it was time to step aside and pave the way for another officer to lead the IDF into the future.”

The IDF spokesperson released a statement of Halutz’s decision after midnight on Tuesday night. Since the completion of the war in Lebanon in August, Halutz came under an onslaught of criticism from fellow commanders and politicians calling for his resignation and blaming him for the disappointing results of Israel’s 33-day fight against Hizbullah.

Many of the IDF internal probes found that Halutz was personally responsible for the confusion and orders distributed during the war, and the IDF lack of preparation for embarking on the war this past summer.

Despite the immense pressure he was under, less than two weeks ago Halutz seemed to indicate that he planned to stick it out in the IDF.

“I did not hear my superiors tell me to go. When they ask me to, I will respond.” Halutz told military reporters during a briefing in Tel Aviv. Halutz at the time referred to the Winograd Commission which is scheduled to publish its findings in February, and said that if the committee recommended that he leave, he would do so.

Halutz, 58, was in his previous job deputy chief of staff, and before that the Israeli Air Force commander. He was the 18th chief of staff, and the first to come from the Air Force.

Halutz’s decision to resign opened the race for his succession, with the Ministry of Defense Director-General Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Gabi Ashkenazi the frontrunner.

Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinski will serve as Halutz’s temporary replacement.

Other related news;

Text: COS Halutz’s Letter of Resignation to PM Olmert

Peretz: Selection of Next IDF Chief will be Quick and Orderly

MK Erdan: Next IDF Chief Should Be Appointed by Experts’ Committee

Excerpts;
“Olmert and Peretz’s understanding in State security is near nothing and their considerations in selecting the next chief of staff could now be influenced by foreign political considerations,” said Erdan.

MK Gal-On: PM, Peretz Have No Moral Right to Appoint Next IDF Chief

ANALYSIS: IDF Needs a New Commander to Rehabilitate Itself

Commentary;

It is agreed that the IDF needs a new commander. But he must come from outside the Dan Halutz “Old-Boy” network and not be tainted either by the war in Lebanon or by the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif and the 4 Shomron towns, as Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky and Major General (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi may well be. MB

‘Now Peretz and Olmert Must Go’
Excerpts;

Politicians from the left, right, and center said Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz’s sudden resignation provided an opportunity for much-needed rehabilitation within the IDF following the unsatisfactory results of the summer’s fighting with Hizbullah.

Reservist protest leader Roni Tzvangenboim said Halutz’s resignation was necessary and overdue considering the chief of staff’s management of the war.

“In a framework where there are so many problems from top to bottom, at the end of the day responsibility lies with the individual at the top of the pyramid, just as in any other profession,’ Tzvangenboim said.

He said Olmert and Peretz must also go if the IDF was to expect better results if fighting does in fact break out again with Hizbullah in 2007, as predicted by several military analysts.

“I don’t sleep at night for fear of the next war. We are not interested in right or left, we are sick of politics, scandals, and failures. We need a complete overhaul from the leadership in the last war, period.”