Israeli Generals Fed Up With Government's Gaza Foot Dragging

Israel's chief of staff along with the air force chief and several other military leaders voiced their frustration with the Israeli governments slow to act policy regarding Gaza operations.
And former defense minister, Moshe Arens put it this way:

"It is unthinkable to place children on Israel’s front line; that’s a job for soldiers. "

And this was put forth, as well:

Air Force commander Shkedi said at a separate venue: “For us, terrorists on the fence and missile fire are unacceptable.”

Now, the frustration is more than understandable and although I am convinced that Olmert has held back for ridiculous reasons linked to relations with Abbas and pressure of restraint from the U.S., I personally feel that Hamas is just baiting the Israelis into such action. Hamas saw the Israeli reaction in Lebanon when Hezbollah kidnapped the Israeli soldiers and I think Hamas has come to the conclusion that they will die a slow death in Gaza. Hamas needs to somehow extricate themselves from Gaza and an Israeli operation will give Hamas the reason to go after Abbas and take the West Bank. I also have a fear that there is a domino plan out of Iran that when Israel goes full force into Gaza, there will be the next phases of attack by Hezbollah from Lebanon and even movement by Syria towards the Golan Heights.

Here's the full story.

DEBKAfile: Israeli generals impatient with government foot-dragging on Gaza operation

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the tone - even more than the actual words - heard from chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashenazi, air force chief Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy and other generals Monday, Feb. 11, betrayed frustration over the too-little, too-late policies pursued by the government.

Prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Olmert were signaled by Israel’s highest military officers that they were fed up with straining at the leash and being held back from effective ground action to stamp out the Palestinian missiles and terror at source in Gaza.
Ashkenazi told members of the IDF high command Monday night that the IDF had already been issued with the requisite orders and directives to carry out this mission -“subject to approval.” This rider was a transparent jab at Olmert and Barak – especially the latter - who told the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee earlier Monday that he had directed the Israeli army command to “prepare for a possible major assault in Gaza and for its consequences, but also to put forward alternative options.”
All these options have been thoroughly scrutinized and been languishing in the politicians’ in-trays for months if not years.
Unlike Barak, Ashkenazi’s words were crystal-clear: “The army stands ready to deepen and expand its operations (in Gaza) as needed in accordance with the decisions reached.” This tossed the ball back to the decision-makers and showed up as meaningless Olmert's pathetic on-camera outpouring in Berlin: “We understand the suffering and pain of Sderot,” he said.
And in response to the government leaders’ implied lack of faith in the IDF, Ashkenazi told the officers: “I have confidence in you and am certain that the military will carry out its missions. There is no one but us to defend our homes and country.”