Senior officers of the Israel Defense Force who took courses at marine war colleges in the U.S. are critical of the way the marines are taught to adapt to combat situations, the newspaper Maariv reported today.
According to Maariv, the Israeli officers say the marine command lacked “vision and imagination” and was too prone to “go by the book.” That basic attitude did not allow the marines to adapt quickly to specific circumstances not spelled out in military textbooks, the IDF officers claimed.
They suggested that the marines tended to rely too heavily on massive air or artillery support to “soften up” the enemy, a tactic that could not be applied to their mission or situation in Beirut.
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