Israel Hayom..
05 May '13..
Judging by foreign reports, it has been proved once again that if Israel does not implement a policy of military deterrence in the face of enemy states, no one will do it for us. Syria may not admit that a convoy or a facility was attacked on its soil, Lebanon may not admit that an attack was launched from its territory, and Hezbollah may not admit that it sustained a serious blow to its efforts to pose a missile threat to more and more Israeli cities, possibly even a chemical threat. The absence of confirmation from all these parties, coupled with Israel's ability to control its desire to broadcast success, is the foundation of bolstering deterrence.
I have no doubt that 24 hours after the attack in Syria, at least according to foreign sources, Tehran, Damascus and Hezbollah are busy with damage control, checking for information leaks and mainly feeling frustrated at their inability to retaliate. Strikes of this kind -- the kind that the foreign media likes to attribute to Israel -- against Iranian scientists as well as against sensitive computers, arms convoys in Sudan, an arms-laden ship in the Red Sea and terror leaders in Damascus, in Malta or in Gaza, together prompt a degree of fear that is central to our power of deterrence.
Ever since the First Lebanon War, in which the Israel Defense Forces also fought against Syria, Israel has not had to go to war with a neighboring enemy state. Israel's neighbors -- Egypt, Jordan, Syrian and Lebanon -- all of which have joined forces in the past in war against us, now no longer dare strike the opening chord of a real war. Since 1948, through four wars over the course of 34 years, Israel's readiness to invest every effort to protect itself and its determination to protect its borders have given rise to the undisputed power of deterrence. Even if, at times, there was the odd battle cry made by an Arab leader, it was never translated into military orders to launch an actual war.
But since 1982, we have been dealing with a new type of enemy, Islamist terror, some of which has overrun entire swaths of territory, while the other part, much like a parasite, has taken advantage of the fertile ground resulting from lack of order or authority in various countries. Hundreds of books have been written by experts about the characteristics of terrorism, and the inability to defeat it militarily. Quite a few experts here in Israel have also bought into that theory, and have tried to recommend, in the capacity of so-called "gatekeepers," to seek compromise and dialogue with terror organizations, in efforts to inspire positive motivation to reconcile.
After more than 30 years in the IDF fighting terror, I have no doubt that every time Israel takes the initiative, it increases the fear that already exists in the hearts of terror leaders and activists. Israel's element of surprise and firepower is every terrorist's nightmare. Every time Israel retaliates and targets the things that are most important, and most painful, to the members of the terror organizations, it creates an unbearable loss for them. The war against terror requires us to keep our finger on the trigger of deterrence every day anew. We cannot afford to let the terror organizations develop any kind of self-confidence in their ability to disrupt our lives. They need to feel persecuted at any given time, in their homes and in their travels as well as in their ability to gain power.
The latest attacks, attributed to Israel by foreign reports, took the wind out of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's keffiyeh. The initiative, the determination and the ability to translate intelligence into such a quiet and accurate attack is exactly who we are. If we are wise to continue patiently with this tack as long as necessary, we could very well write a new chapter to the books on fighting terror, and spearhead a process that could prevent Islamist nations, like Iran, from using terror organizations as proxies.
We have always been a light unto the nations, and now it is time for us to stamp out the darkness that is threatening the West and keeping it stuck with its finger in the dam, rather than building a new dam.
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4211
Brig. Gen. (res.) Zvi Fogel is a former chief of staff of the IDF Southern Command.
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ya very true...
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