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Last update - 01:30 19/08/2008 Security, not just money By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Defense budget  The defense establishment, which has been busy for the last few weeks in a fight over its budget, received a gift from heaven on Sunday: Iran's satellite launch. That underscored the threat posed by the missiles Iran is developing, should it decide to mount nuclear warheads on them. Had the launch been announced while the ministers were still wrangling over the budget, it would have been hard to shake the impression that the long arm of the security services had set the satellite launcher's countdown clock from afar. The dispute over the size of the defense budget is a routine every government goes through every year. Defense needs more, always more, but more is also needed for internal affairs and welfare, for those lives the defense establishment is supposed to defend. And we must not run wild and violate the budget framework, because the economic impact would be felt in every household (and in the Defense Ministry as well). This regular ritual of the budget cult is a joint production of the Finance Ministry and defense officials, politicians and journalists, who criticize both sides with arguments that have worn thin from overuse. Arab armies have grown stronger - some in ways that threaten Israel immediately (the surface-to-surface, anti-aircraft and antitank missiles acquired by Syria), and some in ways that could turn from paper threats to real ones should the government be overthrown (the advanced Western armaments acquired by Egypt). Armed organizations have gained strength and are capable of bleeding Israel - as happened in Lebanon and is liable to happen in Gaza. And above all hovers the Iranian threat, which obligates Israel to invest in both defensive and offensive capabilities. Advertisement The normal process would be for the intelligence community to detect threats, the Israel Defense Forces to determine the appropriate response, the Defense Ministry to calculate the necessary budget and the defense industries to receive funding to develop and manufacture the relevant systems. A stable, multiyear budget is preferable; fluctuations, which result in shutting down programs and agencies and then reviving them, cause waste and detract from security. This principle was adopted by the Brodet Commission, which recommended increasing the defense budget over the next five years, beginning this year, on condition that the defense establishment streamline itself. But for all the heat of the debate, the budget dispute is more feigned than real, because from the start, the proposed resolution was an accounting trick rather than substantive: agreeing to finance everything, but deferring some of the money to the next fiscal year. That is a declaration of intent that carries considerable weight, though it is not binding. The next government, either before or after new elections, will not want to be accused of neglecting defense. Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi likes to say the IDF must always be in one of two situations: fighting or ready to fight. To inject content into that slogan, the army must become more modest, give up its status symbols - a colonel's car does not need to be upgraded with him when he is made a brigadier general - and abolish, civilianize or privatize extraneous operations, like Army Radio. Senior officers, who earn good salaries and aspire to the highest posts, would be happy to remain in service even without incentives, which should be earmarked for field commanders and young technology experts. The IDF deserves a budget that meets its needs - but it must show that it is using it efficiently and modestly. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Poor sports Here are the top 10 excuses for Israel's poor Olympics showing. Kafka the Zionist Remnants of Kafka's estate found in T.A. raise questions of his belief in Zionism.   1.   using it efficiently and modestly 12:33  |  Jj burke 19/08/08   2.   An effective way to cut the costs and make the IDF strong 13:16  |  Absolute Sweden 19/08/08   3.   Leaders` resolve to win not just security nor money 14:52  |  Win-Win only 19/08/08   4.   Leaders` resolve to win not just security nor money 14:52  |  Win-Win only 19/08/08   5.   #3 Win-win absolutely correct. 15:06  |  The Archives 19/08/08   6.   Why do I always have to come up with the solutions? 16:25  |  Natallie Durson 19/08/08   7.   The Colonial Entity WILL Be Dismantaled 16:57  |  JA 19/08/08   8.   Nobody can `Win Win` ...... 17:01  |  Josephus 19/08/08   9.   An Alternative To Defence Spending - PEACE!! 20:06  |  chet 19/08/08   10.   Coupling military expenses with golbal mediatic defense. 20:33  |  Fortuna Benmayor 19/08/08   11.   no. 7 yours is the most colonial 21:27  |  eu phoria 19/08/08   12.   Still 08:43  |  Mr Ipp 20/08/08

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