It's come to this: IDF 'strategy' paper calls for more use of 'soft power,' ignores Iranian nuke threat
The Iranian nuclear threat is not specifically mentioned in the IDF’s new strategy document, at least not in the unclassified version approved for public release.
While its hegemonic Islamic designs on the region and its support for extreme terrorist organizations is a central and recurring point of reference, the existential threat Tehran presumably poses through its nuclear program does not appear in the 33-page document signed by Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, IDF chief of staff.
Instead, Eisenkot warns against “exposing the state of Israel to risks that are not reasonable for its existence.”
Eisenkot repeatedly references the military’s total subordination to the political echelon and the need to fortify deterrence through a credible military threat. He also writes of the IDF’s obligation to achieve all objectives as defined by the government and to “defend and win” in any government-mandated use of force. But Eisenkot also states that use of military force should be aimed at achieving an improved strategic situation as a result of combat.
At a time of plummeting relations between the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the administration of US President Barack Obama over the Iranian nuclear deal, Israel’s top officer prioritizes fortifying bilateral cooperation.
Similarly, he defines Israel’s international standing as a key tenet of national security strategy that must be strengthened through multidisciplinary action of which the IDF is only one part.
Israeli experts here welcomed Eisenkot’s publicly released document, yet decried the fact that the Netanyahu government has not come out with a strategy paper at the national level.As you might imagine from my introduction, I disagree. The Iranian nuclear threat is real and cannot be ignored. We cannot afford to take the risk of going along with the Obama administration's assertions that the agreement will stop a nuclear-armed Iran. It is plain to see that it will not. This report was written for political correctness.
“Even when a conflict develops, as has happened four times over the past decade, the enemies cannot be defeated through exclusively military means, whether due to the minimalist definition of political aim, or as a result of constraints in using force by international law and the lack of international legitimacy for using military force in a civilian environment,” they write.
The INSS authors called for a revised national strategy for promoting Israel’s interests and political-security goals that must include public diplomacy, “instruments of soft power,” cooperation with actors whose interests overlap those of Israel; cyber operations, and the establishment “of a legal and public relations apparatus aimed at reducing Israel’s isolation in the international arena.”The only time the World sympathizes with Jews is after we've - God Forbid - gone like sheep to the slaughter. This has been proven time and time again throughout Jewish history. We have only the Holy One Blessed Be He on whom we can rely. We cannot rely on the United States or anyone else. Any attempts to do so betray a weakness of spirit and could God Forbid lead to calamity.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, diplomatic isolation, Gadi Eisenkot, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, nuclear weapons
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:42 AM
2 comments
