Channels
Photo: Hagai Aharon
Shlomo Ben Ami
Photo: Hagai Aharon

Time to draw the line

Israel cannot allow itself to witness last summer's helplessness again

The Second Lebanon War, which began as a conditioned reflex rather than as a result of a rational strategy with achievable objectives, has left us with several key conclusions for the future.

 

In a self-initiated war, as in the case of the Second Lebanon War, the initiating party is likely to lose the vantage point if the enemy is not a regular army that operates in accordance with the rules of classic warfare. This is also what happened to the US army in Iraq. The Shock and Awe attack against Saddam Hussein's standing army ended in decisive victory, but then the gates of hell opened up, and the occupying army found itself engaged in asymmetrical warfare against terror and suicide militias.

 

Israel and stronger superpowers alike have also failed in asymmetrical campaigns. A hard lesson to learn, which Israelis experienced personally, is the blurred boundaries between the front and the home front.

 

An organization that is not a state succeeded in using military force against Israel with the might of a standing army, and in so doing redefined the future battlefield. Any enemy, even if it is a standing army whose power is inferior to that of the IDF and whose culture lacks any trace of morality, will no longer hesitate to make use of its ballistic capability to strike at our home front the way Hizbullah did.

 

A small and dense country such as Israel cannot allow itself to witness the scenes of last summer's helplessness again. Fortification of the home front, however important it may be, cannot be the sole answer.

 

The lives of northern residents are no less valuable than those of central Israel residents. However, a missile attack on Tel Aviv – and the Syrians are capable of this – will have far-reaching implications since this is not only the most densely populated area but also represents the heart of Israel's economy.

 

If Israel is unable to prevent such an attack or nip it in the bud, this will also have harsh implications on the Israeli economy on the global level.

 

International consensus

The Second Lebanon War was the longest of all Israel's wars except for the War of Independence. If the IDF did not win the war it wasn't because the world didn't give it enough time.

 

The international community's patience hinged on several points: Firstly, on the determined struggle by the Arab world's moderate regimes against radical Islamic forces, where a covert alliance with Israel exists. Israel's war against Hizbullah was also the war of our Arab neighbors.

 

Obviously, Israel must not assume that this alliance is unconditional. Resolving the conflict with the Palestinians is vital for bolstering this alliance. In Sharm el-Sheik we witnessed how, contrary to the position of Israel and the US, both Jordan and Egypt pushed for a diplomatic process that would include Hamas and not alienate it. In fact, they sought the renewal of the Palestinian unity government through their understanding that there would be no armistice, not to mention an agreement, without Hamas.

 

The separation between Gaza and the West Bank, which seems so favorable to Israel, by no means ties in the policies of our allies in the Arab world.

 

The second reason for the prolonged Second Lebanon War was the international consensus that every nation has the right to protect its borders, providing they are recognized and agreed borders. This is the case between Israel and Lebanon. It is not the case vis-à-vis Syria and the Palestinians.

 

Hence, the establishment of an invisible wall marking international consent to Israel's borders must be a vital component in Israel's defense doctrine. This requires a strategy that seeks diplomatic agreements and is aware of their cost.

 

In order for this wall to be established, Israel's power of deterrence - which revealed dangerous shortcomings during the Second Lebanon War - must be restored without risking a war with Syria.

 

The writer is a former Israeli foreign minister

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.13.07, 15:12
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment