IDF back in business?
Posted by Ron Coleman on September 18, 2007
Soccer Dad suggests Israel may have gotten its groove back, while a expressing a healthy scepticism about its ability to make proper political and strategic use of its main instrument of leverage.
jaymaster said
I think the biggest concern with the IDF recently is with the capabilty of thier ground forces. No one has doubted the capability and readiness of the air force. In fact the big concern was that they may have placed TOO much emphasis on air power, and let the ground forces atrophy.
That certainly seemed to be the case with the most recent Lebanon conflict, and the troubles with the Kasam rockets.
Now, there has been much concern about the government’s political willingness to actually USE the IDF.
Of course, we know what that’s like over here too. Voters like Ara must be appeased….
Actions like this do help answer that question.
Ron Coleman said
Read the story I linked to. It suggests that with changes to the IDF’s top leadership, there will be a renewed emphasis on the use of ground troops — largely because Ehud Barak (unlike the prime minister) knows how to use them.
It’s amazing Israel didn’t learn from the lesson of the US: Real policy goals, short of those theoretically achieved by nuclear war, are not ultimately achieved with air power, as important as it is tactically.