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The Colonels' Mutiny
The IDF chief must immediately dismiss the colonels who
staged a mutiny with the Galant document and disassociate
himself from them, restoring democracy to its proper
bearings.
By Ari Shavit
The facts are known to all, but the facts are unfathomable.
It is alleged that a retired Israeli colonel (a good friend
of the chief of staff ) handed a forged document to another
Israeli colonel (the chief of staff's personal assistant ),
who passed it on to a third Israeli colonel (an associate
of the chief of staff's assistant ), who then gave it to
journalists who reported its contents on our flagship news
program aired by a semi-public television network.
The forged document, which included false accusations
against the minister who is the chief of staff's superior
(a man loathed by that same chief of staff ) and another
general (also loathed by the chief of staff ), was present-
ed by that flagship program as authentic exactly two days
after the formal search for the chief of staff's replace-
ment began.
This chain of events was set in motion by the chief of
staff's associates and/or supporters, and the result
dovetailed with the chief of staff's interests: the
suspension of the process for appointing his successor.
Thus arose the reasonable possibility whereby the chief
of staff's term would be extended until the minister he
answers to was replaced or the government he reports to
fell.
The media cooperated in good faith. Innocently enough,
the public was misled. The plot was exposed only when the
police entered the picture. The facts were revealed only
because Police Commissioner David Cohen and Maj. Gen.
Yoav Segalovich, the head of the police's intelligence
and investigations unit, are honest, courageous and
professional officers. At the last minute, we averted a
situation whereby colonels known to be associates of the
chief of staff maliciously used the media - all with the
aim of forcing an elected government to submit to the will
of the chief of staff, who is supposed to be subordinate
to it.
Dozens of scandals have befallen Israel in recent years.
None of them, however, have been as grave as the colonels'
mutiny. This time the issue does not revolve around fraud,
bribery or untoward sexual behavior. Now the question is
how a cohort of officers overran the country's most popular
television studio without using tanks, fabricated something
horrifying, incited against the civilian leadership and
sabotaged the vital process of selecting a commander to
lead the army, one overseen by Israeli democracy's elected
representatives.
Douglas MacArthur was the most feted American hero in the
war effort against the Japanese between 1941 and 1945.
Afterward he ruled over occupied Japan, reconstructing
the country in exemplary fashion. He then commanded UN
forces in Korea, rescuing Seoul. Yet once the popular and
charismatic general began publicly questioning the policy
of the administration in Washington, his rare virtues could
not save him. On April 11, 1951, after he flouted orders
handed down by the president, Harry Truman, the supposedly
wishy-washy commander in chief called on the supposedly
dazzling MacArthur to return home. To this day, Truman's
deed is considered an act of civilian heroism, highlight-
ing the way a democracy must deal with celebrated military
commanders who violate its fundamental rules.
Israel's 19th chief of staff is no MacArthur. He did not
win wars like MacArthur did, nor did he rebel against the
administration. But the chief of staff may not avoid the
fact that a conspiracy of colonels against the elected
government was hatched in his court. What the office of
a battalion commander cannot do to a brigade commander
and what the office of a brigade commander cannot do to a
division commander the office of the chief of staff cannot
do to the defense minister and the prime minister. This is
a chilling violation of a taboo.
Gabi Ashkenazi is a moral, wise and impressive commander.
The Israeli people are deeply indebted to him for his role
in rehabilitating the Israel Defense Forces and restoring
trust in it in recent years. Yet the government system
still in place here does not grant Ashkenazi the title of
supreme ruler. It is not the army that governs the people,
but the people who govern the army using the Knesset and
the government. Ashkenazi is supposed to grasp these basic
concepts.
The colonels who are subordinate to him and close to him
do not understand. They do not realize that the senior
officer corps is not allowed to undermine the civilian
leadership. Thus the burden of proof rests on the outgoing
chief of staff. He must explain what happened and how. He
must give a full reckoning of his role in the affair. He
must immediately dismiss the colonels who staged a mutiny
and disassociate himself from them, restoring democracy to
its proper bearings.
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