Akiva Eldar, Haaretz, April 29:
Given the actions of the outgoing defense minister, Lieutenant General (res.) Shaul Mofaz, citizen Amir Peretz is stepping into very small shoes. Mofaz sowed evil and is bequeathing ruins to the next government, and not only to the new defense minister. He is leaving behind him the serious damage caused by two mistaken strategic theories – theories that were wrong for Israel and for the entire Middle East. Both attributed to Arab leaders with very limited military strength the actual intention of destroying the State of Israel. Both were a product of the dogmatic views of Amos Gilad, head of the political-security division at the Defense Ministry. Mofaz, who lacks an independent political platform of his own, adopted Gilad’s views uncritically.
The failure of the first theory was exposed, along with all its serious implications, by the Steinitz Committee. This theory was that Saddam Hussein would turn his weapons of mass destruction against Israel when he had “his back against the wall.” Gilad and Mofaz assessed that the American invasion of Iraq would improve Israel’s strategic situation – but instead it led to an increasingly close relationship between the Shi’ite regime in Iraq and its Iranian neighbor.
The second theory was that Yasser Arafat entered the Oslo process and began the intifada in order to bring about the establishment of “Greater Palestine,” which would include Israel and Jordan. This conspiracy theory regarding the Palestinians led the security services to adopt a one-dimensional, shortsighted, aggressive approach.
Read the whole article, a devastating critique of the failure of Israel’s establishment to govern for the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians.