Barak: IDF needs to be bigger and much better equipped
By Yuval Azoulay
The Israel Defense Forces needs to be bigger and more technologically advanced in order to deal properly with future threats, Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared yesterday.
Speaking at his first press conference since taking office two months ago, Barak said that he had been surprised to discover "certain facts regarding stores, the order of battle and the 'breathing room' of the IDF and the defense establishment" in general. He told military correspondents that without a multiyear force-building plan, it will not be possible for the army to implement Israel's basic defense doctrine, which is based on deterrence, early warning and victory in battle.
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The defense minister said that the shortcomings he found in the defense establishment stemmed from the budget cuts of the past few years, including in programs aimed at bolstering the IDF's ability to counter emerging strategic threats in the Middle East.
Barak's defense doctrine, as he presented it yesterday, is based on an active missile defense system that can intercept all types of missiles. It also includes measures to increase the IDF's maneuverability by increasing of the size of its available forces. Among other things, Barak wants to reinstate two reservist divisions that had been disbanded and gradually increase the size of the armored corps.
The defense minister emphasized that tanks must be equipped with technologically advanced, active protective systems capable of dealing with the threats that emerged during the Second Lebanon War. During that war, IDF tanks fell prey to advanced antitank missiles fired by Hezbollah fighters.
"Israel," Barak warned "is currently at less than half the maximum order of battle it had in the past." He also said that in order for Israel to be able to fight on multiple fronts, it requires "breathing room" in terms of its logistical capabilities, including stocks of arms and ammunition, as well as proper training.
"A military force is not merely hardware and technology, but first of all confidence and fighting spirit. There is no military force without training," he said.
Live-fire training, he stressed, must continue at the brigade and division levels, just as in the past.
"There cannot be a recurrence of the situation in which a division commander first witnesses his division in action during wartime. Live-fire training is the closest approximation of wartime conditions, even if the psychological element is missing," he explained.
Another element of Barak's doctrine is the development of a "long reach" that would allow the army to operate "far from its borders, with the ability to strike accurately and painfully."
The General Staff, meanwhile, began a two-day workshop yesterday on the IDF's future force structure. The discussions are meant to contribute to the development of a multiyear plan for the army, which will also cover procurement and the Brodet Committee's recommendations on the defense budget. Among the issues that participants will discuss are intelligence assessments and the debate over whether ground forces should be bolstered at the air force's expense or vice versa.
The decisions on force structure will be summarized by Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and then brought to the defense minister for approval.
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