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Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 8, 2006 |
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The effective replacement of Major-General Udi Adam, head of the IDF's northern command, by Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky, has intensified an already heated debate in Israel's political and military circles concerning what is increasingly perceived as a stinging failure of leadership. Kaplinsky was appointed as the "personal representative" of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz to manage the war on the front.
Halutz said that the move was made "to coordinate the IDF's efforts" and claimed that he had full trust in the IDF commanders in general and in Major-General Adam in particular.
IDF sources cited by Haaretz said Kaplinsky's role would be to coordinate land, air and sea operations in case of a widescale offensive. The sources also said his appointment would not affect the chain of command in terms of the relationship between the central command and the northern command. But the move was generally interpreted as putting Kaplinsky, as the Chief of Staff's right-hand-man, in charge of the belated large-scale offensive expected to be approved tomorrow by Israel's cabinet.
One officer said, "Chief of Staff Halutz appointed him [Adam] to the position; he was the one who picked him so he's the one who should stand behind him and back him up fully. He can add all sorts of senior officers to the Command to help and coordinate, but to appoint the deputy Chief of Staff -- that's a slap in the face. It creates a problematic situation. Who makes the decisions in the Northern Command now? Adam or Kaplinsky? Who bangs his fist on the table and decides?"
When pressed by Channel 2, Adam expressed displeasure, but said it was perfectly legitimate to appoint a senior officer, especially when it is a deputy chief of staff, to assist the commander of a front during wartime.
Some senior officers in the Northern Command were reportedly more disturbed. They stated that the nomination undermined Adam's authority. Channel 2 quoted unnamed sources as saying that Adam has considered resigning because of the move. Others have said that his resignation is inevitable: A senior IDF official told Ynet that "at the end of the war Udi Adam will no longer have a choice, and he will have to leave his post."
According to the official, reported ynet, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz "can't dismiss such a high-ranking officer during wartime. Therefore he adopted a procedure which moves him away from the frontlines, with a heavy hint towards the future."
Halutz issued a statement in which he expressed full faith in the Northern Command and in Major-General Adam, however, according to official quoted by ynet: "If the chief of staff really supported Major-General Adam, he would say so in front of the cameras, in his own voice. The fact that he didn't -- says everything."
ynet cited another source in the IDF who said in surprise that "the Command's chief [Adam] has all the knowledge and opportunities to command his area and report to the general staff. It's weird that a senior officer, such as the deputy chief of the General Staff, should work in the same area and perform, in fact, some of the Command's general duties."
In an interview with Channel 2, Major-General Adam said: "I think that right now my responsibility is to command the Northern command. There are soldiers in here who fight bravely, understand the missions, understand their responsibility and sacrifice their life. Right now I'm responsible for doing it, and I will execute my responsibility."
"It's a war and there are harder thing than that right now. To tell you that it can return to routine? Probably not. I'm trying to focus all the powers and forces in order to reach the right and smart decisions on the northern front. It's more important right now, unless I'll feel I'm being interrupted."
ynet reports that officers in the Northern Command revealed that lately difficult conversations have taken place between Adam and Halutz, chiefly regarding the Northern Command's operations, or rather, their inactivity. "On the other hand," ynet concludes "the question must be asked why is it that Maj. Gen. Adam is being held accountable for the situation."
While some believe that the appointment of Kaplinsky implies criticism of Adam, others have suggested that Adam is being set up to be the "fall guy" when finger-pointing begins in earnest should the military campaign fail. Others have suggested that Adam was vocally calling for more aggressive action and was refused by the Chief of Staff and Prime Minister.
There is one well-known precedent for such a move during a previous Israeli war. As The Jerusalem Post noted, "during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Haim Bar-Lev (res.) was appointed as commander of the southern front, effectively neutralizing the command of then-OC southern commander Maj.-Gen. Shmuel Gonen. At the time, the acrimony and distrust between Gonen and his division commanders, especially his predecessor Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ariel Sharon, interfered with the ongoing fighting in the Sinai Peninsula."
In the past, the Post noted, it was reported that Halutz and Adam were not on best terms -- a claim flatly denied by IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Miri Regev.
YnetNews contributed to this report.
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