Israel Hayom..
06 May '13..
In recent years, there have been occasional reports of attacks in different parts of the world attributed to Israel. The common denominator in these reports has been the target: weapons convoys smuggled from Iran to terror organizations positioned along Israel's border.
Foreign reports have described attacks from the air and sea, in Sudan and the Red Sea, as well as the interception of ships carrying weapons -- from the Karine A in 2002 to the Francop and Victoria vessels in recent years. These reports all point to incessant efforts by Iran's Revolutionary Guard to arm terrorist groups, particularly Hezbollah and Hamas, thereby encircling Israel in missiles and terror.
Simultaneously, Tehran continues to develop a nuclear weapon, which it hopes to use to achieve a balance of deterrence. Both avenues of action are part of Iran's strategic goal of destroying the State of Israel.
There are elements in Iran, both institutions and people, diligently working to harm Israel. They are behind weapons smuggling and terrorist activity, and they train, fund and direct the terrorist organizations near Israel and around the world.
For years, the Iranians have implemented their strategy along two parallel paths. One is conventional, and includes bolstering the terrorist organizations on Israel's immediate periphery (the first ring), arming them with missiles and other advanced weapons to create a constant terror threat. This forces Israel to expend considerable time and resources to deal with the threats on its borders. The advanced military equipment Iran provides these groups makes the threats significant, requiring increasing attentiveness from the Israel Defense Forces and the defense establishment.
Meanwhile, on the second path Iran continues to develop a nuclear weapon so that it can one day act against Israel more easily, by deploying its terrorist proxies under a nuclear umbrella.
We didn't choose Iran as an enemy. It forced itself on us and now we are in an ongoing battle with a "third-ring" country. It makes the fight more difficult and complex. Israel's defense establishment invests enormous resources in the fight against Iran -- from intelligence to operations -- whenever it must. Iran's distance and the struggle to stop weapons smuggling obligates the defense establishment and IDF to stretch its reach into these complicated and far-off operational arenas.
The civil war in Syria, including Iran and Hezbollah's involvement in the fighting, exacerbates the problem by making Syria's weapons stockpiles more accessible to Hezbollah. The latest attack in Syria, according to foreign reports, is part of this long-standing and continuous campaign, and is a clear signal by Israel to Assad and Iran that it won't sit idly by as advanced weaponry is transferred to Hezbollah. It is certainly possible that the most recent attacks in Syria won’t be the last.
The uncompromising fight to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon pushes Israel, its leaders and its defense establishment to exert extraordinary efforts. This fight often demands a great deal of attention and takes precedence over efforts to block the arms flow to terrorist groups. However, we still must act with simultaneous determination against both threats and prepare ourselves both militarily and diplomatically.
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4227
The writer was the commander of the Israel Navy
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.
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