Defense Minister Ehud Barak attributes great importance to speeding up the development of technological defenses against rocket fire on the home front, as he considers this a precondition for any significant withdrawal from the West Bank.

Such a withdrawal would put Israel's main population centers in Qassam rocket range of the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, Barak believes, Israel must first develop and deploy an effective anti-missile system - a process that is expected to take three to five years.

Though Barak has declined to say so explicitly or to point an accusing finger at anyone, he has been unpleasantly surprised by what he has discovered about the Israel Defense Forces' preparedness in the weeks since his return to the Defense Ministry. At a meeting Tuesday with reservists from an armored brigade, one tank gunner told him that his current reserve duty is the first time he has seen an actual shell in five years. "No one will wait five years before the next exercise," promised Barak, who believes that live-fire exercises are critical, as they are the closest thing to real combat.