[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Katz - According to IDF Military Intelligence, Israel is heading toward a number of major military conflicts in the coming year, possibly even in the next few months. Hizbullah is rearming and is back at the level of strength it possessed before the war. Syria is in the midst of an unprecedented weapons shopping spree and making final preparations for war. Iran is racing toward nuclear power and, if not stopped, might obtain a nuke as early as 2009. Hamas has established an enemy Islamic state five minutes south of Ashkelon. And al-Qaeda has declared Israel as one of its primary targets for the coming year. Senior officers warned last week of growing enemy strength and a continuous deterioration of the IDF's level of deterrence in the eyes of its enemies. Israel's deterrence began declining in May 2000, following the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon. It increased with America's entry into Iraq in 2003, but quickly dropped again with the unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005, which was perceived - as was its Lebanese predecessor - as a victory for Islamic terror. In 2006, deterrence again suffered a heavy blow with the failure to destroy Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War, and it continues to decline with America's failure to stabilize the situation in Iraq.
2007-07-20 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive