Losing our deterrent power
Op-ed: IDF possesses heavy weapons, but government won’t allow it to use them
IDF Intelligence Chief, Major General Amos Yadlin, described last week the rocket and missile threat faced by central Israel from the direction of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza. He of course did not detail what means Israel has at its disposal to respond should the threat materialize to some extent or fully. Yet even if he would have provided details about such means, he would have done it knowing that the Israeli government would not use them effectively.
Israel is quickly losing its deterrent power vis-à-vis its enemies, both near and far. The weak government, which speaks in several voices on almost any issue, the fear of local and international commissions of inquiry, and the inability to make it clear to our enemies that they will sustain a grave blow should they attempt to harm our civilian population turned Israel into a state that one can aim thousands of missiles and rockets at, and even use them one of these days.
The loss of deterrence starts with local incidents that are limited in scope. In August of this year, after Colonel (res.) Dov Harari was shot and killed on the northern border by a Lebanese sniper [No mention on ,the Air Force bombed several Lebanon Army facilities. In the face of such provocation, a self-respecting government with desire to build its deterrent power would have responded with a major blow; a blow that would prompt the Lebanese government to think twice about its open and surreptitious cooperation with Hezbollah.
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