Israeli general upbeat on lessons learned

Israel’s top general said the army was implementing lessons learned from last year’s Lebanon war. Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told new conscripts at the main military induction center this week that while the armed forces did well against Hezbollah fighters during the 34-day conflict last summer, the overall failings of the campaign had been noted.”We have a strong army. Wherever our soldiers encountered Hezbollah, they were victorious,” Ashkenazi said. “We had problems, but not with the fighting units, and we are dealing with this and implementing the lessons, especially in the matter of training.” Many Israelis believe that the failure to crush Hezbollah in the July-August war undermined national security.