Why weren’t the soldiers declared KIA two years ago?

Lynn reminded me of an article from a few weeks ago detailing how the IDF pronounced Eldad and Goldwasser killed in action.

“During the incident and the injury, the (first) missing soldier was wearing the examined bullet-proof vest… The damage caused to the car and to the bullet-proof vest is compatible with the firing of RPG bombs… Therefore, it should be concluded that the injuries to the missing soldier’s body were caused by a hollow explosive device.

“When the damaged bullet-proof vest was worn by a man whose body structure is similar to that of the missing soldier, we discovered that the injury was caused to the upper part of the chest… The injury caused to the missing soldier could be extensive loss of blood, direct damage to the organs and minor injury from shrapnel.

“Such an injury, as described, is a grave injury in any given situation, which requires urgent and complex surgical treatment. The chance for a person to survive such an injury without receiving immediate complex medical treatment, which requires specialized surgical skills (namely, in an operating room) are close to zero.”

[…] As for the second captive, the report said that “his blood was found on the doorsill, on the ground and on the equipment tossed outside. This goes to show that the missing soldier was injured inside the car.

“In addition, the blood stains found on the side of the equipment compartment on the left point to shots fired from a weapon with high muzzle velocity as the soldier was standing outside the vehicle. The soldier is believed to have lost a lot of blood inside the vehicle. The large amount of blood near the vehicle points to the place where he collapsed. This indicates massive bleeding, apparently from a large blood vessel.

“A double injury (by RPG and high-speed bullets) to the upper part of the body is a serious injury in any given situation and requires urgent and complex surgical treatment. It is uncertain whether the missing soldier survived the initial attack, and if the shots were fired at his chest, the chances he survived are very small. Therefore, the missing soldier was at least seriously injured, and his condition may be even more critical.”

This is information the IDF has had for two years, and presumably, that Olmert has been privy to for two years. This is not new information. Why weren’t the Regevs and Goldwassers given this information two years ago? Why wasn’t the Israeli public given this information two years ago? Why did Olmert and the IDF sit on this information for two years, all the while negotiating for the bodies?

This exchange would have been very different if the Israeli public—and the soldiers families—knew that the soldiers were dead.

The rabbi was also presented with “highly confidential” intelligence information received after the war. Ronsky, who was one of the very few people to receive access to this information, was deeply impressed by what he was presented with.

The rabbi told his associates that the medical opinions regarding the first missing soldier were enough, and that the profoundness and depth of the intelligence information were enough to bridge the certain doubt regarding the second captive. He concluded that it was possible to declare Regev and Goldwasser dead.

Sources in the Military Rabbinate said that Ronsky was enraged over the fact that the intelligence information, which is not new, was only brought to his attention last week.

Who in the Israeli government thought that withholding this information was in any way good for Israel? And how is it that nobody seems to have complained about this information being withheld from the families, and from the public, since the summer of 2006?

Perhaps one of my Israeli readers can enlighten me on this topic. Because I think it borders on a coverup that helped only Israel’s enemies in this deal. Karnit Goldwasser wouldn’t have gotten nearly the response she got if her husband was declared KIA and the evidence released to prove it. And Nasrallah would not have gotten the deal that he did, which is encouraging Hamas to hold out for the release of all the prisoners on their list.

Israel is going to be paying the bill for this for a long, long time. And I have one burning question: Why was this information not released? Who ordered it withheld?

Olmert has much to answer for.

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One Response to Why weren’t the soldiers declared KIA two years ago?

  1. Jon Ihle says:

    I can think of one reason, and you’re not going to like it: kidnapped soldiers present a more compelling case for invasion than merely dead ones.

    It gives me no pleasure to surmise this, since I supported the war (and also understand there were other – some simple, some complex – reasons for invading Lebanon), but if the IDF was looking for a pretext for a necessary but potentially unpopular war, well….

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