IDF Commander of Ground Forces, Major-General Kobi Barak, attacks Major- General Yitzhak Brick, against his criticism that the army is not fit for war. “It’s a statement bordering on irresponsibility”, states the senior commander in an interview with Yisrael Hayom.

“The IDF is in the best position to fight in recent decades. We are prepared for any kind of war in any sector, and anyone who claims otherwise simply does not understand the profession, “says Major-General Kobi Barak. According to him, the determination is based on professional indices, which include the level of training, inventory, spare parts, manpower and more.

Barak was interviewed following the harsh criticism leveled by the IDF ombudsman, Major-General (Reserves) Yitzchak Brick, who claimed that the ground forces were not fit for war. Barak, who will soon retire after 10 years in his current position. In a report he prepared, a report that was recently passed onto the cabinet ministers, and the to the subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee and the IDF leadership, to appoint a committee to investigate the readiness of the ground forces for war, insisting the accusations leveled by Brick are inaccurate.

The IDF Ombudsman is a unit in the Ministry of Defense whose purpose is to allow IDF soldiers and their families to submit an admissible report regarding any act or omission that has been committed and to correct the faults.

In recent years, the ground forces have not been at their best. The stocks dwindled, the training decreased, and amid these realities, the military’s ability to withstand military confrontation. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott placed the rehabilitation of the ground forces at the top of his list of priorities and succeeded in positioning the ground forces in a better place, Barak explains.

Major-General Barak is angry and hurt by the Commissioner’s words: “His tools are missing, but the most insanity of this is driving me crazy – if he claims that this is the case, he will put everything on the table and examine who is right.”

Barak attacks Brick personally, stating, “I do not think Brick is a liar, but he paints a picture of the situation that is at best wrong, and there are no new king’s clothes here. There may be shortcomings, and we are working to fix and improve what is needed,” he says.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)