General concedes Israel failed to smash Hizbollah

JERUSALEM, Aug 20 (Reuters) Israel's top general conceded today his army had failed to knock out Hizbollah in more than a month of fighting, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he might order a broader investigation into the war.

Addressing Israel's cabinet, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz insisted gains were made during the 34-day conflict against the Lebanese guerrilla group, but acknowledged that the result was not widely perceived as a convincing victory.

''The feeling of the public is that it was not a knockout blow,'' Halutz told ministers, according to a government source.

''Alongside the successes, there are issues that have to be investigated. Just as medals will be handed out, we will also have to investigate the opposite.'' He added: ''We scored achievements with regard to every one of the targets that were set.'' Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon and 157 Israelis were killed during the war, in which villages in southern Lebanon and areas of Beirut were heavily damaged by Israeli air strikes and northern Israel was shut down by Hizbollah rockets.

While Israeli commanders say nearly 500 Hizbollah fighters were killed, the guerrilla group's leadership remains intact and its support in Lebanon and beyond appears undiminished. Hizbollah says only a few of its fighters were killed.

It is not clear how much of Hizbollah's 12,000-strong arsenal of rockets Israel managed to destroy during its air, sea and land campaign that began after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a raid across the border on July 12.

A ceasefire took effect on August 14.

The Israeli public has shown its disappointment with the outcome of the war, with Olmert's popularity falling sharply in opinion polls and some commentators calling for him to quit.

Defence Minister Amir Peretz last week appointed a commission to investigate the conduct of the war, but Olmert indicated today he could go further and order a broader, state inquiry that looks beyond the Defence Ministry.

''We are holding consultations and checking with the attorney general regarding the configuration of the investigation and this will be put together in the coming days and presented to the cabinet,'' Olmert told ministers.

''What we need to do now is...to complete this process and this should also be part of the investigation, to draw lessons from the past in order to confront the current reality.'' It is not yet clear what parameters any investigation would have, but senior ministers, including Olmert, could be called to give evidence.

Halutz did not dismiss the need for a broader investigation, but said that such a probe ran the risk of ''emasculating'' the army, and said that it should not be allowed to drag on, as had previous post-war Israeli investigations.

''An investigative process must not bring about the emasculation or stagnation of the army, that would also deny it the ability to check itself,'' he said.

Halutz suggested an initial three-month probe at most.

Reuters MQA GC1946