Maybe it's the tendency of negative reporting or this media outlet in particular but from reading this thing daily one gets the impression that the IDF is going to hell in a hand basket. A reoccurring theme seems to be immaturity of the troops involved and though it is not feasible for Israel to end their draft and go to a professional force, boy do they ever need to!

For some insight on many of the problems of the IDF you might want to read : The 188th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah--A Memoir by Joel Chasnoff . It should be required reading for military officers and Israels leaders. I hate to think this mans experiences are true but if they are something needs to be done about it.

The issue is that these things are reported in the press, so it sounds very bad. Actually, these things happen much more often in other militaries but there is censorship and not reported. Until a few years ago, the IDF has a strong military censorship and these things were not reported. Is it better to have a complete free press that continues to report things like these and a very strong, moral effective military, or not report these things in the press and still have the strong military but with a better perception? This is similar to our clandestine services. In the press, we sometimes hear about things that may have gone wrong, but what we don't hear or read about are the amazing fetes that go right every single day.

The missile were paid for by the US taxpayer. The tab for the repair will be picked up by them as well