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Israel Redefines Victory in the New Middle East

(Gatestone Institute) Yaakov Lappin - In the new Middle East, Hamas will continue firing rockets into Israel right up until the last day of a conflict, and claim victory despite absorbing the majority of damages and casualties. The last time Israel fought direct battles with organized military foes was during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Today, as the main goal of most conflicts, victory has been replaced by deterrence, rather than clear-cut conquest or triumph over the enemy. Furthermore, seizing control of the enemy's turf is seen as a short-term initiative, and assuming long-term control and responsibility for hostile populations is highly unpopular among strategic planners, who argue that this should be avoided wherever possible. Nevertheless, at some point, deterrence erodes and must be reestablished again. This is what happened in Gaza last month. The IDF's evolving new doctrine involves short spells of fighting in which it hits the other side hard enough to ensure that the Israeli home front will enjoy prolonged calm after the fighting ends. Senior Israeli defense sources have indicated this month that any future round of fighting with Hizbullah will make last month's Gaza conflict seem minor by comparison. The 1,500 targets struck in Gaza over the course of eight days in November could have been struck in 24 hours had the Israel Air Force elected to do so with its upgraded weapons systems. The IDF is not counting on rocket defense systems to secure future victories.
2012-12-28 00:00:00
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