"Hezbollah is a challenging enemy. They have thousands of rockets and anti-tank missiles, but they will end the next war in Lebanon, otherwise, it will be difficult for us, and it will be disgusting, and it will be full of fire and soldiers will die, but in the end we will end it with a result that is very bad for Hezbollah because we are much better. And I'm not saying this from an arrogant place, but because I know what we know in defense, and intelligence and offense. This is a great challenge, which we will win," says the outgoing commander of the commando brigade, Col. Manny Liberty.
In an exclusive interview, Liberty talks about the challenges of the next war, in which his brigade is designed to operate deep inside the enemy. "I want decision makers to do it with reverence and a lot of discretion. We proved in an operational model three weeks ago that we can do this, but getting the commandos into depth is a move that is done only when there is no choice, or in order to prevent a situation where there is no choice. It's a crazy decision."
"Hezbollah is a challenging enemy." Col. Manny Liberty, Photo: IDF Spokesperson
And will you be able to bring about a significant achievement?
"With a lot of modesty, yes. Imagine a commando brigade landing at Masmiya Junction or Mesovim Junction. Who will reach it and stop it? By the time they reach her, she's already drinking coffee in the Kirya or at the Tel Aviv district headquarters. Hezbollah cannot be strong at every point."
Under the commando brigade there are 3 elite battalions: Cherry, Magellan and Egoz. Over the past year and a half, Duvdevan has played a central role in the operational activity to thwart terrorism in Judea and Samaria, which is much more violent and complex than in the past. "We come with mixed vehicles. The gap between the unloading from the complicated vehicle and the beginning of the encounter is the biggest hallucination I live in, meaning I can't even digest it. If once the encounter was in the structure itself, in a pressure cooker or in a scan, today the envelope is 10 times more complex than the target itself. The real story is the number of militants in any given area cell. It's a huge event."
"We have commandos Dimona and Ashkelon and full of Tel Aviv." Col. Manny Liberty, Photo: Oren Cohen
However, the main event during his tenure was not operational, but rather the two-sided fire that led to the deaths of two company commanders in the unit, Major Itamar Elharar and Major Ofek Aharon, by another unit officer. Liberty says, "It hurts how simple it was. From the moment a person goes out alone, puts on a weapon, puts on a helmet, puts a night vision device on his eyes, cocks a bullet with a weapon - it's like taking out a torpedo missile and there is no turning back. From there nothing good can happen. It's like two trains crashing into each other. An event that is bordering on hallucinatory. An IDF officer is not supposed to go out alone. It breaks through every possible mechanism."
Liberty also talks in the interview about the motivation for the service, and the profile of those serving in the brigade. "We have commandos Dimona and Ashkelon and full of Tel Aviv, and full of Judea and Samaria, and Ethiopians and Druze, all highly motivated fighters. When you have a common goal, when the settler and Tel Aviv zigzag together in Balata, then everything is clear."
The full interview with Col. Manny Liberty on Friday in "Israel This Week".
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