Israel Matzav

Don't mess with crazy people?

Guy Bechor says that the Arabs fear us because they realize that we have learned the rules of the region and will not be pushed around anymore. I worry that he's overstating the case.

So how do we explain this bizarre Middle Eastern paranoia? The IDF is training today as it has not done in dozens of years. Every day, from morning till night: Tanks, airplanes, helicopters, live-fire drills and soldiers running around. The Lebanese watch this from across the border, as do the Syrians, and they are becoming anxious: What are the Israelis plotting over there? Is there something we don’t know?

The Israeli restlessness prompts anxiety among our enemies, and this is good, of course. It’s called deterrence. Both Hezbollah and Syria know that the IDF made a leap since the last Lebanon War and it is now the first military in the world equipping its tanks with anti-missile systems, which are changing the rules of war. The IDF is also equipping itself with new APCs, advanced airplanes, and amazing technological systems, while Hezbollah and Syria are still stuck in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Moreover, a series of daring assassinations attributed to Israel is prompting personal fears among axis of evil leaders. They suspect everyone around them and the confusion is great. We should recall that Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has been hiding for three and a half years now, and this is quite embarrassing for someone who rushed to declare a “divine victory,” no less.

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According to terror groups, Israel can reach anywhere and has infiltrated every organization and each Arab state. The glory of Israel’s secret services had been restored and the fear of them has increased.

So what are people in the region telling themselves? “Israel is back.” It disappeared for about a decade and a half of “peace,” where it was perceived as weak; yet now it is back at full force.

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Yet what concerns our enemies more than anything else? The insight that Israel, for the first time in its history, has learned the rules of the region. Our enemies realize that the days where Israel conducted itself as a state without honor willing to give in to the advances of those who deceive it are over. They realize that Israel has matured, learned the art of creating deterrence, and that it is here to stay.

Our enemies understand that Israel will no longer give in to their advances in exchange for illusions or words. They realize that it won’t be easy for them to control it from the outside or to deploy their supporters within it, because they lost the faith of the public. They are starting to understand that Israel is stronger than they thought or fantasized of, and this insight affects their own self-image – and to their great regret, this hurts.

Really? If we've learned the rules of the region, why is there a construction freeze in effect in Judea and Samaria for ten months in return for nothing? Why are we begging Abu Bluff to come back to the table and talk to us? Why are we begging Hamas to release Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1000 terrorists instead of telling them we will execute a terrorist for every additional day that he's held - and following through on the threat.

Sure, the IDF has the best technology in the world. Sure, the IDF has stepped up their training. But are we really going to unleash them? Are we going to destroy Lebanon's infrastructure the next time Hezbullah fires a rocket at one of our cities? That's the kind of strength this region understands. Does our government get it?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:20 AM