Israel & Deterrence

Israel's Concept of Security -Amos Harel 

A new book by Prof. (and reserve major general) Itzhak Ben-Israel on Israel's concept of security reminds us that the principles David Ben-Gurion set in the 1950s have not changed, despite changing circumstances.
    
"When the General Staff meets to discuss a military operation, 80% of the discussion revolves around deterrence," he said.
    
Israel cannot really overcome its enemies in the long run, he added. Even the great victory of the Six-Day War provided only six months of quiet until the War of Attrition began on the Egyptian front.
    
"In Israel's conception of security, wars are actually rounds of violence in one long war," he said. Victory under such circumstances is "to see to it that from one round to the next the enemy's desire to return to the conflict is reduced."
(Ha'aretz)
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