The surprise party
While our leaders are getting tongue tied in an effort to find the most efficient tactic for political survival, the arch enemy demonstrates how a leader is supposed to conduct himself. There's no need to believe a single word, but we can certainly appreciate the show
It has become clearly evident that alongside the mass and mutual destruction between the warring parties, they were primarily involved in surprises.
The abductors surprised the abductees.
The tank surprised the abductors.
The landmine surprised the tank.
The incident surprised the chief of staff.
The chief of staff surprised the cabinet with his proposals.
The cabinet surprised the chief of staff by acceding to his proposals.
The prime minister surprised the home front when it enlisted it to absorb the Katyusha fire.
The home front surprised the prime minister with its lack of preparedness to absorb the Katyusha fire.
The air force surprised the army when it became apparent that killing and destruction from the air are not considered a victory.
And the army surprised everyone - itself and others, soldiers and enemies, Israel and the world. It was publicly revealed that the army is no longer the Messiah. What a disgrace.
And when Hizbullah leader Nasrallah told a Labanese TV interviewer this week that he too was surprised, Israel was quick to take pride: Finally, the Israeli government found a tiny bit of comfort in all these surprises.
Party pooper
I don't like being a party pooper; however there are a few thorns in Nasrallah's confession. Some are overt and some covert. Some are intentional and some are not.
Firstly, those who are reveling in Nasrallah's surprise should also note the compliment he paid himself. In between the lines he is saying, "Despite the surprise, look at the results." And we don't need particularly sharp ears to hear his mockery of the Israeli army, who was also surprised by the campaign, and whose commander is unable to give it a better score than a "victory in points."
Secondly, there is quite a measure of mockery towards Israel and its leader in his so called "remorse" and confession, saying that had he been able to predict the outcome of the war, he would not have ordered the abduction of the Israeli soldiers.
Nasralla's doctored image
Nasrallah doesn't present himself as a coward interested in protecting his own hide, nor as a fool who didn't evaluate the situation properly. His "remorse" is aimed at presenting an image to his followers: The image of a leader who fears for the good of his people and community.
His followers are supposed to understand that he does not believe that securing the release of four prisoners from the hands of the Jewish enemy is worth endangering hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and their property.
He alluded to another regional leader, who without the slightest hesitation and after a few hours of deliberations, decided to endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and their property because of two abducted soldiers.
The prime minister knew all along
Anyone reviewing the press on the first day of the war would have been surprised to discover that the prime minister knew all too well what was in store for the northern residents. Nonetheless, he proceeded to expose them to the rocket fire with a clear mind and conscience.
Thirdly, Nasrallah's admission to his so called surprise served to burst the bubble of Israel's hard earned image to the world. Now we have to deal with the possibility that Hizbullah may not have been an Iranian proxy after all, a submissive Persian marionette ordered about by Ahmadinejad.
This somewhat paranoid theory suddenly seems rather foolish. And beneath it lies the realization that perhaps it wasn't the Islamic empire who gave us such a striking blow but rather a local leader with a relatively small militia.
Fourthly, there is no doubt that Nasrallah hid a snide grin under the cover of his mustache and beard when he once again demonstrated his ability to convey reliability, responsibility, self criticism, drawing of conclusions and a list of other popular traits Israelis look for so desperately in their own leadership.
While our leaders are slipping on their tongues in an effort to find the most efficient juggling tactic for their political survival, the arch enemy demonstrates how a leader is supposed to conduct himself.
Of course, there's no need to believe a single word but we can certainly appreciate the show.
