There is more to it than that. Oslo has been one of the main causes succesive government have cut the millitary budget more and more because the peace process has been the magical solution, we make peace with palestians and Syria then there will be no need for a well equiped army anymore. Before Lebanon the general thinking in the IDF since Barak at least was that armoured warfare was a thing of the past and there was no need to invest in things like tanks anymore and Barak tried to kill the merkava 3 program Sharon saved the merkava then a compbination of Natanyahu as finance minister and then Peretz as defense minister killed it again and maybe Barak has now given it a little longer to survive thanks to the decision to buy new merkava 4 tanks. but in general the project is dead because of politcs not because the millitary establishment decided they would prefer to buy the US Abrams like Egypt does one day rather than have a next generation merkava when its developed. The IDF has been looked onto for to long by both politicians and officers as an organistion that is simply an extension of the police whose job it is to deal with terrorism real wars are not the sort of thing the IDF needs to worry about all we need to worry about because they dont happen anymore the only kind of wars there is a need to understand about and fight is urban warfare against terrorits with crude weapons. There has been a lack of training, lack of understanding the future warfare even the establishment has been beliving in the IDF legends the mighty army that defeated 3 armies in 6 days. Those legends are for the tourists who buy the the t shirts and the DVDS not for senior officers in the IDF. Also there is a growing trend towards looking at unmanned systems as the future and so there is more investment in machines to do the job rather than training humans. There has been alot of worrying about threats of neuclear weapons from Iran and heavy investment in missle defense but they havnt considered the fact that the arab armies today have alot of the same equipment Israel has some of the Gulf states like Saudi Arabia have even better .. the Thyphoon Eurofighter is far superior to the F16 which is a plane coming to the end of its life. The arab commaders also think smarter than they used to making them a much more deadly enemy.] Israel is no longer the conventional superpower of the region today. An arab coalition army today would be much harder to defeat. Whats needed is for politicians to stay out of the millitary .. the army says how much they need and some of the things they want to buy shouldnt have politicians deciding if there is a need for more tanks or if its better to simply buy American at the expense of what the men on the ground belive is better for them. Israel also needs to start taking part in war games with organistions like NATO get some experience of fighting against modern foreign armies that have experience of real warfare. Negligence and short sighted views of whats needed from the IDF in future must end we must continue to think that tommrow there could be anther Yom Kippur war not just an operations defensive shield where your street fighting with terrorists or a neuclear war with Iran.

With Olmert in charge and an Israeli populace that seems to be too paralyzed to demand change the problem won't get better.

The nexus between political leaders DEDICATED to post/anti zionist outcomes, coupled with IDF heads more interested in pleasing their left wing masters than with national security, are the direct causes of the IDF's decline. Couple the above with an insane combat 'strategy', that of, restraint is strength, limited conflict doctrine and containment, and you get a confused and flabby fighting force. The only savior in Lebanon-if it can be called that-is the initiative and courage exhibited by the average soldier. IF things are to turn around, an ENTIRE purging of the High Command and the political leadership has to happen as soon as possible. If not, within the next few years the IDF will be nothing more than a rudderless, ill prepared bunch of warriors without a chance in hell to prevail.

It should go at least all the way to Oslo in 1993. And who knows, perhaps even earlier. Perhaps Israelis should implement harsher punishment (there is none now, for all those who take 'calculated risks' with other people's lives.

You have laws on your books that say ceding land is punishable by death. Why is nobody talking about this on the eve pf another Israel destruction? A country that is utterly dependant on her military for her daily survival--and this is how your leaders protect you!!??!! Where is the outrage? Where is the promise of NEVER AGAIN? Pay very close attention Israel--your enemies are running your country and your allies are financing your destruction. WAKE UP!!!

they want to force political issue by using the idf ... sadat use it .. [[even iam not with sadat ]]..but it apears as if it succeeds .. but it is between two states .. but now it is between state of israil and militants and /between a state and people under ocupation

Yes we saw in Ramallah what the IDF could do during Defensive Shield (against helpless civilians): houses, street lighting and drainage systems deliberately bulldozed, schools destroyed, broadcasting studios ransacked, computers stolen and destroyed, defecation on the walls, urine bottled and unbottled smelling everywhere... this not even mentioning the completely unnecessary and deliberate targeting of children, the shootings, injuries and deaths, This is your famous IDF, the pride of American Zionists, the wonderful army of the State of Israel!

Olmert told everyone that we are tired of defending ourselves. Nobody can argue with the Boss. The heads, in IDf, would had rolled if they ad said something contrary to Olmert's view.

Nothing you said is true; you just spread the vicious Arab propaganda lies. Al Dura wasn't killed by the Israelis, if at all, there was no Jennin massacre; there were no deliberate killing of Arab civilians by the Israelis and all you are left with are the fake Arab corpses walking or rather running away from their funerals. The only killers of civilians are the Arabs who shamelesly use pregnant women, ambulanses and retarded children to murder Israeli civilians. Now that's the truth. Live with it.

Where did you see that Chanalau, Tova , on French TV?

it's not enough to outline some "problems" - to be useful, an editorial like this should also point to solutions. connect some of the dots! the political echelon clearly is failing to deliver suitable leadership, but what needs to change in the electoral process to select better leaders? is increased funding for the idf the answer? or is their budget being misspent on "super-weapons"? or should the dialogue move back to the morale and motivation of the idf? has it become a career for "fraierim"? and why has israel not launched any meaningful defense against the onslaught of arab propaganda and deception? is this deliberate, or is someone asleep at the switch? sometimes, it would be nice to go beyond the obvious.

Olmert sent my cousin to be killed on an helicopter, but his children he made sure to protect abroad. I don't live in Israel but in a free democratic country. What a shame; There is not a single real man in Israel with real balls, to take legal and international action against this despicable dictator. You still let him rule your lives? unbeliavable!

Whatever your name is, what you have written sounds EXACTLY like a description of ARAB- not Jews. So perhaps you made a typo. If so, pleace rectify it. If NOT, then you damn well don't now what you're talking about , as anyone with even a grade 3 education can see.

A question: which country have the Swiss fought in the last 50 years? Israel has fought and won several as we all know. The Swiss have no natural enemies...Israel has many. Israel has no alliances, but perhaps could be sort of a jr partner in NATO. If not, it must be honed all the time..politics or no. It must have the best of everything..it is a garrison state in reality, and has no option. A strong nuclear deterrent is a must to keep Iran and others in check. Any fight with Egypt, etc. should be devestating for Egypt, etc. I would take out the Aswan for beginners..or threaten. The same applies to the Saudis and Syrians. This is not a game and never has been. Lebanon did not test Israel at all, but did reveal weaknesses. The military is a function of the political, but is also separate. Keep it responsible, but keep it strong and mighty. Let's see what the summit brings, if anything.

I am so sorry for your loss. The Winograd report is supposed to hold Olmert personally responsible for 33 soldiers death in the last days. Let's see if israel has the moral fortitude to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to bring this gov't down, lay charges and invoke their existing treaon laws for ceding Israeli land. Let's hope your cousin's death and so many brave Israel's will not be in vain. Could this be the tipping point to finally rouse the Israel's into clarity ---that their goverrnmens are their sworn enemies??? Let's all pray for this.