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IDF troops prepare to enter Lebanon

Speaking the language of the Middle East

Israel has changed the rules of the game: instead of abductions working against Israel, to the extent of extorting an entire country, abductions now work against abductors and their countries

How does this war differ from others? Well, this is the first time Israel has begun speaking the "Middle East" language. After 60 years the Israel Defense Force has finally began to understand the rules of the region.

 

This is occurring to the astonishment of our enemies, who are used to seeing Israel stutter in a foreign language, detached from the region. And this is enough to change the Middle East, as the prime minister rightly said. 

 

In the Middle East the stronger party is not attacked but rather the weaker one is, particularly when it is unprepared. Israel attacked the Hizbullah unprepared for the campaign. We have created deterrence in the Middle East by using powerful military force, and this deterrence is supposed to work for years.

 

Attackers will be punished

 

Yet, Israel has never been able to create deterrence, and if it ever did, it was unintentional. In the Middle East today, it is common knowledge that anyone who dares attack Israel will pay a heavy price, such as the unbearable price of the attacker's complete destruction. 

 

Israel currently understands that it must strike back at the first sign of violation and not wait for years, because it might prove to be too late. Had the IDF redeployed from Lebanon while destroying the south, this war could have been prevented. The same rule applies to the disengagement from Gaza. 

 

The same applies to abduction. Had the IDF responded forcefully in 2000 over the kidnapping of its soldiers, Hizbullah and Iran would not have dared turn the whole of Lebanon into its playground. Israel has reversed the situation: instead of the abduction working against Israel, to the extent of extorting an entire country, the abduction will now work against the abductor and his country. 

 

Stick to reality

 

The IDF currently understands that there is a deep divide between reality and the declarations of victory made in wars of the Middle East.

 

Saddam Hussein was defeated in 1991 but nonetheless named the war "the mother of all wars." Egypt suffered a heavy defeat in 1973, yet it still views the consequences of this war as a great victory.

 

Israel understands that in order to be perceived as a winner, symbolic, psychological actions such as dropping commando fighters into the city of Baalbek, or the assassination of Hizbullah leaders need to be taken. Only measures such as these will provide a sense of security so crucial for future conflicts.

 

Civilians have never played a role in the Middle East. In the Iran-Iraq war thousands were killed, without it bothering one side or another. Israel however faced the moral obstacle, which was cynically taken advantage of by the opposite side: it chose to hide behind its civilians as it did in the village of Qana in south Lebanon.

 

Welcome to the Middle East

 

Israel succeeded in overcoming this obstacle in this war when all the civilians living in the south of Lebanon asked to flee their homes during the temporary ceasefire. Those who didn't bore the consequences.

 

The IDF's hands are now free to destroy the Hizbullah, which to the organization's astonishment has remained exposed, devoid of its women and children behind whom they seek shelter.

 

Welcome to the Middle East, Israel. Paradoxically, while incorporating the rules, the Middle East will accept you. This time it has no choice. 

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.03.06, 23:37
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