Only in Israel - Instead of getting a court-martial, they give him a medal!

Israeli Army Chief Who Resigned Over Lebanon Gets Medal -AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP)--Dan Halutz, the Israeli army chief who resigned over perceived failures of last year's Lebanon war, was decorated on Monday for his role in the conflict, the army said.

Halutz received a medal along with all other military leaders in office during the 34-day war with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, as well as the present military brass led by his successor, Gabi Ashkenazi.

A wave of public criticism erupted in Israel following the war, which is widely perceived as a failure here for having failed to stop Hezbollah from firing rockets into the Jewish state and for having failed to retrieve two Israeli servicemen whose capture by the Shiite militia sparked the conflict.

Halutz became the most senior head to roll over the conflict when he resigned in January 2007, without waiting for a report by a government commission established to examine government and military conduct during the war.

In April the commission published an interim report in which it blasted Halutz, along with ex-defence minister Amir Peretz who resigned in the following weeks, for having failed in their duties.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was responsible for "serious failure," it said.

The final report of the Winograd Commission is expected to be issued within months.


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