When Ehud Barak reached a decision-making level in the army and eventually in the government, he was enthralled - as were others who came out of the ground forces - by the charms of technological solutions. These, and not traditional offensive and deterrent warfare, are supposed to solve Israel's security problems.

Barak took part in the decision to develop the Nautilus, based on laser technology, as a weapon against Katyushas fired by Palestinians, and after a while by Hezbollah from Lebanon. The Americans, who for a number of years collaborated with Israel in developing this response, concluded that it is expensive even for the American treasury and (perhaps) mainly, that it cannot provide an appropriate response to a number of rockets fired simultaneously.

Anti-ballistic missiles like the Arrow, launched after offensive missiles have been identified as having been fired from thousands of kilometers away - from Iran, for example - and interceptor missiles have enough time to hone in on offensive missiles.