IDF soldiers in Operation Protective Edge
IDF soldiers in Operation Protective EdgeFlash 90

The State Comptroller's Report on the 2014 Protective Edge campaign is to be published today.

Dr. Haim Shine, an expert on legal philosophy and lecturer at the Sha'arei Mishpat Academic Center of Law and Science, says in an Israel Hayom article that the report, most of which has already been illegally leaked to the media by interested parties, may cause more damage than good, since it will make sensitive cabinet decisions and discussions public and will cause future cabinet decisions to be predicated on fear of possible future enquiries into the decisions rather than on the responsible decisions required at the moment of truth.

On the military operation itself, he says: "The Protective Edge campaign crippled Hamas's military capabilities , created a strong deterrent against future offensives, and enabled the continued development of life in the Western Negev region. Above all it did not end with keeping an IDF force in Gaza and endangering soldiers' lives in its narrow, rotting alleys."

He adds that these kind of reports should be reserved for unique cases, like the Lebanon war and the Yom Kippur war, whereas the Protective Edge campaign should be assessed by military investigators and the cabinet should then adopt their conclusions.

"The cabinet takes life and death decisions daily. Collective responsibility is at the basis of cabinet activity. When members of cabinet exploit it and leak sensitive information for political motives, it causes real damage to the functioning of the cabinet and is highly irresponsible," says Shine, adding that "the IDF is dear to all of us. The last thing we need now is mudslinging between cabinet members and former and present senior officers. The army is tarnished by these disputes and the State of Israel looks bad in the eyes of its friends and enemies. These battles are best left for election periods and the army should be left out of the political game."

Napoleon Bonaparte once declared that all war is chaos and the winner is the one who knows how to control the chaos of his rival.

Napoleon's statement signifies the difficulty to assess the political, security and social considerations of leaders during the course of wars. It is also applicable to the attempt of the State Comptroller to deal with matters of national security. The auditing can examine the fulfillment of directives but cannot deal with the way in which decisions are taken.