Israeli Army Rates Low Against Hezbollah

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

A document drawn up by a senior Israeli military officer warns the Israeli Army is not adequately prepared to counter Hezbollah in a future war.

The paper, written by Lt. Col. Robi Sandman titled "How the Arabs are preparing for the next war," claimed the Israeli Army failed to compile accurate intelligence on Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War, Maariv reported Tuesday.

Sandman assessed in the next war Hezbollah will dispatch hundreds of armed squads comprised of up to five fighters each into the Galilee, the newspaper said.

He advised the army set up small reconnaissance squads to counter the threat, noting that the Hezbollah fighters will rely on assistance from the local Israeli Arab population in the Galilee in the next war.

"Currently the army has no response to such a scenario," the newspaper quoted Sandman saying.

The document received an award from Israeli army chief Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

Sandman asked 24 Israeli army officers to grade between one and 10 the Israeli army's performance and that of Hezbollah during the 33-day war in 2006, the newspaper said.

In military doctrine and strategy the officers graded Hezbollah with nine out of 10 as opposed to the Israeli army which received five, the paper said.

In intelligence gathering, Hezbollah received a seven for its performance and the Israeli army six, the document said.

Hezbollah received an eight in training and organization and the Israeli army was rated seven. While the Israeli army scored a high nine in technology compared with Hezbollah's five, the Iranian-backed group rated an eight in tactical command compared to the army's six, Maariv said.