BARAK STUDY: RESULTS ARE IN. In a nutshell:

A lack of training and an aversion to accepting casualties manifested repeatedly last year, Mr. Barak's assessment found.

In Lebanon last year, ground operations reportedly were halted when casualties were taken. In all of Israel's previous wars, it was a cardinal principle that an attack presses on regardless of casualties, who are retrieved afterward.

Sounds like a psychological issue--but then it seems to develop into an issue of morale:

In meeting with brigade commanders who fought last year, Mr. Barak was told that they often faced the challenge of whether a mission, which seemed superfluous to them, was worth the risk to the lives of their soldiers.

Mr. Barak replied that this was not a question that should be considered in wartime. Every officer, he said, must act on the assumption that his superiors had good reason for the orders they issued.

Coming on the heels of the soldiers that refused orders in Hebron--not to mention the "Courage to Refuse" which came before that--this is an issue that goes beyond training and strategy. Just how effective can the IDF be when the leader of Israel, who is castigated by the Winograd Report plays politics to stay in power and refuses to step down?

[Hat tip: Powerline]

Technorati Tag: Israel and Ehud Barak and Lebanon.