Five retired American army generals who have just completed a tour of Israel and Lebanon at the invitation of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith say they were amazed by what they described as “relatively little civilian damage” caused by the fighting in Lebanon.
Harry Kinnard, a former commanding general of the U.S. Army Combat Development Command, said that, compared to anything in his military experience, the damage to civilians was minimal. His statement was supported by other members of the group which included George Pation, son of the World War II hero; Richard Carr; Sidney Barry; and Lewis Perlstein, a member of the U.S. Army National Advisory Board.
The generals said that all their contacts with Israeli officers had been “candid, open and honest.” They had been given full information on technical and operational matters and had passed all information received to U.S. military attaches.
Kinnard said the 1982 Israel army was for superior to what he had seen here in 1973, and the Israelis had well learned the lessons of the Yom Kippur War. They had been especially impressed by the coordination of all arms of the services, he said.
Patton was impressed by the Israeli-designed Merkava tank but thought it not suited to the U.S. army. He said he was especially impressed by the small amount of “maneuver damage” caused by pushing heavy and bulky equipment, especially armor, through populated areas.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
