No
military operation ever proceeded exactly as the military commanders
planned. If the perception of the outcome is success nobody cares
about what has transpired. If it is a failure, in democracies, there
are questions and investigations. Then journalists and experts have a
ball. They know better than anybody else, in their capacity as
armchair generals, how the military operation should have been
performed. Politicians have their ball too, after keeping silent for
years now they are complaining that they were not consulted.
The
misrepresented by press Report of Israel State Comptroller about the
incident of Mavi Marmara is another instance of such ball, or rather
mini-party.
With
the exception of late press releases by IDF spoke persons, the Report
does not point to any wrong decisions by the Prime Minister, the Defense
Minister, or the Army. He criticizes the Government for improper
decision making process without blaming the decisions themselves. The
Comptroller thinks that the Government should have consulted in a
better way with one of its departments, the recently created National
Security Council, but he states that even if this had been done, the
outcome would not have been necessarily better.
According
to the Report violence by the Turkish supporters of Hamas was
considered and dismissed. The Prime Minister tried hard to convince
Erdogan through the US and others not to sponsor the flotilla. He
failed because Americans did not act as they should have. The fact of
the matter is that American pressure made Turks canceled subsequent
flotillas. Be this as it may it was natural to presume no violence, I
presume that Turks even promised that.
Militarily
IDF failed to give enough weight to the size of Mavi Marmara and the unit that
landed there was much too small. The soldiers were attacked because
it looked easy to do so.
In
every operation which goes awry press relations are difficult, because
proper evaluation of facts and course of action is slow. For
terrorists truth does not matter, therefore the have an immediate
response. For example in the recent Toulouse murder of Sandler
children, the murderer had much faster access to media than the
French Government and Police.
In
few days the Report of Comptroller on Marmara will be forgotten, but
the fact that Israel, notwithstanding press and media, has the will
and determination to defend itself is well known and remembered.
