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The Doctrine of Defensible Borders

(American Thinker) Harry Kanigel - Arab strategists have, for decades, waged an economic, diplomatic and propaganda campaign whose object is to isolate Israel and shrink it to indefensible size and configuration. In view of such an existential threat, Israel must steady its adherence to the doctrine of defensible borders. Israel's security arrangements cannot be dependent on transitory political conditions in the U.S. or the Arab states, whose overt hostility to Israel waxes and wanes but whose ingrained commitment to its destruction is well-nigh a law of nature. The principle of defensible boundaries, as applied to the West Bank, draws on the foundational work of former Foreign Minister Yigal Allon, architect of Israel's defensible borders template, dubbed the Allon Plan. The major topographical feature in the West Bank is a mountain ridge running north-south and rising thousands of feet over the coastal plain to the west and the Jordan Valley rift to the east. From vantage points along the mountain ridge, an observer gazing down on the coastal plain would see a narrow band of real estate jam-packed with vital infrastructure, an international airport, all of the major highways, 80% of the nation's industrial capacity, and 70% of its population. The Allon Plan makes ingenious use of this topology, envisioning a 12-mile security belt comprising the topographically rugged Jordan Valley and the ridge above. The combined height of the ridge and the rift presents a 4,200-foot barrier that would defend against attackers from the east (Jordan) and retain positions that oversee the coastal plain to the west.
2011-01-04 10:43:25
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