Yediot Aharonot pays tribute to Lt.-Gen. Halutz's military record as a pilot and air force officer.  The editors suggest that "We are sad because the leadership appears as it is, that the way has been lost and that compass has gone haywire.  We are sad over how the IDF and the entire country look."  The paper wonders how the bereaved families feel and what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Chief-of-Staff Halutz might have done differently with the benefit of hindsight.  The editors predict that, "Dan Halutz will not be the only one to fall on the sword of the Lebanese War."  The paper ventures that "We paid – and still are paying – a heavy price for choosing those without experience," and calls on the entire country to ready itself for the next conflict.

Hatzofeh avers that, "The Chief-of-Staff's decision to resign is connected to the decision to open an 'investigation under caution' against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over his involvement in the privatization of Bank Leumi," and speculates that Lt.-Gen. Halutz decided that, "It would be preferable to resign before the State Comptroller decides to summon him as well for an investigation over one of the affairs surrounding the second edition of the Lebanese War."

The Jerusalem Post praises Halutz for taking the crucial step and resigning. The resignation of an IDF chief of staff, particularly when it ends a career as illustrious as that of Dan Halutz, is never a happy occasion. However, Halutz no longer retained the respect and authority necessary to implement his post-war reform program. Now the task remains of appointing a replacement. According to the paper, the choice should be someone who is not tainted by the perception that he will be personally distracted by or implicated in the investigation of the war.

[Eitan Haber and Moshe Ishon wrote today's editorials in Yediot Aharonot and Hatzofeh, respectively.]

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