Halutz Was a Mistake, by Attila Somfalvi (Ynet)
Excerpts;
The time: Spring 2005, several months before the Gaza Strip withdrawal
The drama: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided not to extend IDF Chief of Staff Moshe (Bugi) Yaalon’s term.
The surprise: Yaalon is replaced by Air Force officer Dan Halutz. The headlines scream of Yaalon’s humiliation and the surprise. For the first time, a “blue uniform” assumes the army chief’s post.
The warnings: Some commentators warn at that time – this may end badly. Yet Mofaz and Sharon stick to their guns and push Halutz forward.
A year and a half later – including disengagement and one problematic war – Sharon’s associates admit in a talk with Ynet: “Arik made a mistake in appointing Dan Halutz as the chief of staff.” So why did Sharon appoint Halutz? “At the time,” one Sharon associate says, “Halutz was one of the more intelligent people around. There was somebody to talk to and finalize things with. Arik thought Halutz would be able to handle all the technological issues and prepare the army for a clash with Iran, while Arik himself would oversee developments in the field, in the ground forces.
Arik thought he would continue to manage the army, as he did during the Intifada, when he spoke with brigade commanders on the ground every day. But then we had what happened with Arik, and what happened in Lebanon, and today it’s already clear that Halutz’s appointment was a mistake.”
Now it turns out that another plan devised by Arik Sharon and his people may fail. They planned to cultivate Halutz’s deputy, Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, and to appoint him as army chief following Halutz’ term in office. Kaplinsky was always considered to be one Sharon’s most favored army officers. Sharon associates spoke about Kaplinsky with great affection. “I don’t know what will happen with Halutz,” one associate said about a year ago, “but I know that he will be followed by Kaplinsky.” This is how much they wanted him.
Yet it appears that his involvement in managing the second Lebanon war is now acting against him.