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Last update - 02:51 07/02/2008 Barak is the wrong man By Israel Harel Tags: Ariel Sharon, Lebanon  The main reason given by Defense Minister Ehud Barak for remaining in the government is to contend with the state's grave security threats, from both near and far. To be prepared, he said, our operational capabilities must be restored and a moral change must be implemented. Barak is thus telling the public he is the right man in the right place, and if he were to step down now there would be no one to carry out these tasks as well as he can. There is a fairly broad consensus on the military significance of these statements, in contrast to the political significance, which has met mainly negative reactions. He is the man who can rehabilitate the army, even most of his political critics agree. Advertisement In the Second Lebanon War, the Israel Defense Forces had two main problems, according to the Winograd Committee: flawed military doctrine and faulty performance, particularly among the field units. Both of these, the committee emphasized, stemmed from a moral decline in Israeli society that has penetrated enough to cause great concern for the future of the country, as well as for the IDF. Many people in the military and government believe that under the circumstances created by the war, only Barak can bring about the necessary changes in the IDF's doctrine and moral values. However a second glance - based on an analysis of Barak's first term as defense minister and of the IDF's current fighting tactics in the South, under Barak?s inspiration - raises doubts as to whether he is really the person who can change the IDF's faulty doctrine, or its spirit (or, in his words, its "moral standards"). The doctrine of containment, which became an object of ridicule after the first Lebanon war, is associated chiefly with Barak. Barak adhered to it even when soldiers were abducted and when frontline communities near the northern border were bombarded nonstop. This doctrine reached its peak with the hasty flight from southern Lebanon, which undermined Israel's standing in the region, in particular vis-a-vis Iran. Suicide terrorism, too, which Yasser Arafat began shortly afterward and which has not ended to this day, is the result of the containment doctrine. That has been the claim since the first Lebanon war made by army commanders including then-chief of staff Shaul Mofaz and his deputy, Moshe Ya'alon. If that is the case, it is worth examining whether Barak learns from his mistakes. In the war against terror, despite hundreds of deaths in explosions on buses and in public spaces, Barak continued to adhere to the containment strategy. When this doctrine failed to stop terror, he lost the election. Only the government headed by Ariel Sharon dared to go beyond containment, to launch Operation Defensive Shield and sharply reduce suicide bombings and ambushes by highway snipers. The army is currently carrying out fairly successful ground and air strikes, but ironically it is these micro-tactical successes that prove the concept's failure. The fear of using decisive force. Barak, it turns out, refuses to learn the lesson of the flight from Lebanon in 2000 and the failure to launch a comprehensive operation against the suicide terrorists' bases, as well as the main lesson of the Second Lebanon War: To stop the rockets, there is no substitute for a massive infantry operation. Therefore, all those who fear for the IDF's future − that is, for the future of the state - must conclude that Barak has not changed his erroneous strategic thinking. And, after all, that is the duty of the defense minister. Barak warns about lost values affecting the motivation of soldiers and commanders. For that reason, Barak must be asked whether his political conduct, particularly in the past several days, can serve as an example for soldiers and commanders and instill the army with the values that will encourage soldiers to endanger their lives. After all, as long as the country's soldiers, and particularly the reservists, have no faith in the prime minister, the defense minister and many of their commanders − who along with the politicians refuse to reach personal conclusions about their failures - the army's spirit cannot be rehabilitated. Barak, very regrettably, is not the person who can bring about a moral change or, as his current behavior proves, a change in the concept of containment, which more than anything else has damaged the ethos of the IDF Bookmark to del.icio.us   Le Pen sentenced French rightist punished said Nazi occupation of France wasn't 'particularly inhumane'. World premiere Eran Riklis' new film 'Lemon Tree' offers a fresh look at the Middle Eastern conflict.   1.   Israel needs the Qassams far more than Hamas does 10:24  |  Natallie Durson 07/02/08   2.   Israel did this before and then 10:29  |  Khalil Ishabib 07/02/08   3.   Harel has the wrong idea 10:35  |  Esther 07/02/08   4.   I prefer Moshe Arens, but you idiots pushed him out of politics.. 10:39  |  Pavel 07/02/08   5.   Natallie Durson is a genius ... 10:50  |  Impressed 07/02/08   6.   Maybe they should learn 10:59  |  Mark 07/02/08   7.   difference of then and retarded now 11:07  |  ghostie 07/02/08   8.   Even if there was a large military operation 11:16  |  Outsider 07/02/08   9.   Well, that`s mighty impressive tunnel-vision, Harel 11:19  |  Johnboy 07/02/08   10.   #5 I think I see a weeee problem with your logic, impressed 11:29  |  Johnboy 07/02/08   11.   Nancy Durson is absolutely right 11:35  |  Montrealer 07/02/08   12.   # 5 Impressed - Thanks for reading 11:50  |  Natallie Durson 07/02/08   13.   The solution is clear and simple... 11:51  |  US Citizen 07/02/08   14.   israel stopped rocket attacks from lebanon with force? 12:15  |  jamil 07/02/08   15.   War lovers 12:36  |  Minda 07/02/08   16.   qassams fire as result of israel assasinations 12:38  |  everyoneknosthat 07/02/08   17.   Moral decline 12:38  |  Nick Ferriman 07/02/08   18.   JOHNBOYGaza sealed by Egypt& Hamas.Nasrallah got the message 13:07  |  PETER SM 07/02/08   19.   Harel may be right, but... 13:10  |  Zkharya 07/02/08   20.   FERRIMAN Worried about democratic & moral decline?? 13:28  |  PETER SM 07/02/08   21.   Reminder for Mr. Harel: Israel occupied Gaza for almost 40 years 13:33  |  Danny 07/02/08   22.   MORAL CHANGE BY AN OPPORTUNIST 13:34  |  indrajaya 07/02/08   23.   why there is no ground invasion of GAZA 13:38  |  no one 07/02/08   24.   everyoneknosthatQassems are jihadists doingwhat theydo everywhere 13:38  |  PETER SM 07/02/08   25.   easy to go in, not so easy to get out 13:59  |  michael cohen 07/02/08   26.   Barack 14:32  |  JB 07/02/08   27.   Clueless: The good old days of Operation Defensive Shield 14:33  |  Dorothy 07/02/08   28.   #13 alecture on moral decline from thailand ? 14:40  |  v hardman 07/02/08   29.   BRING ABOUT A MORAL CHANGE!????!!!!!!!!! 14:42  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/02/08   30.   Readers Should Take Harel Very Seriously 14:49  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/02/08   31.   Solution is to be found in Natanz not Gaza 15:05  |  Jonathan S 07/02/08   32.   Israel Harel, Needs to be morally rehabiliated himself 15:05  |  Dutch 07/02/08   33.   10 jamil,good post,but the withdrawal should be from ALL occupied 15:10  |  lakshmi 07/02/08   34.   Re entry into Gaza will just create more problems 15:12  |  Jo 07/02/08   35.   Quite right, Dorothy, and yet.... 15:23  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/02/08   36.   Israel Harel is no historian 15:23  |  Clickfool 07/02/08   37.   Is not the Person 15:24  |  GPWS1 07/02/08   38.   Barak Not the Problem Olmert Is 15:46  |  Jane 07/02/08   39.   5 impressed 15:54  |  jose marcio 07/02/08   40.   #27 Mr. Sullivan always prefers Israeli suffering 15:58  |  Bob 07/02/08   41.   #20 no one or nobody? 16:01  |  Bob 07/02/08   42.   Leftie Esther,your philosophy equals "Do nothing,you`ll die anyh 16:18  |  Absolute Sweden 07/02/08   43.   #17 No peace? 16:44  |  Outsider 07/02/08   44.   To US Citizen #10 16:48  |  Machiavelli Spinoza 07/02/08   45.   It is time to resolve the Proliferation Question 17:17  |  The Director 07/02/08   46.   As long as 17:28  |  Sabra 07/02/08   47.   A porous Egyptian border will enhance the 17:29  |  bobby 07/02/08   48.   Cynical Durson 17:30  |  Sabra 07/02/08   49.   jamil Beirut # 11 17:33  |  sabra 07/02/08   50.   Barak is right 17:52  |  Robert 07/02/08   51.   Israelies Deserve Olmert and Barak - They Also Never Learn 17:52  |  Tod Zuckerman 07/02/08   52.   Harel on morality? hmm... 17:55  |  Mike Friedman 07/02/08   53.   No Natalie #1 18:02  |  Hilda 07/02/08   54.   to Impressed with Nalalie 18:05  |  Hilda 07/02/08   55.   Hot Tied By Political Correctness 18:12  |  Leslie-Ann 07/02/08   56.   #33 Mike Friedman , I couldn`t agree more. 18:26  |  Dutch 07/02/08   57.   Natallie Durson needs Israel far more than Hamas does # 1 18:28  |  Fortuna Benmayor 07/02/08   58.   Name one IDF general who favors invading Gaza. 18:36  |  Fortuna Benmayor 07/02/08   59.   #1 Faux Natallie, Shouldn`t You Be Calling on Hamas to Stop? 18:45  |  Natallie Durson 07/02/08   60.   Everyone loves blowing everyone else up 18:53  |  Paul Wood 07/02/08   61.   qassams began 19:19  |  rm 07/02/08   62.   Barak? 19:38  |  P. J. Casey 07/02/08   63.   Curious censorship on Talkback 19:47  |  Clickfool 07/02/08   64.   To #5 Impressed 19:53  |  Velvl Shmerlson 07/02/08   65.   #33 Mike Friedman , I agree 20:02  |  Dutch 07/02/08   66.   Sabra #31 and her lies 20:35  |  jamil 07/02/08   67.   To 24 Dorothy. PR Damages & morality 20:39  |  Altalena 07/02/08   68.   There Are No Magic Bullets 21:08  |  Mark of Lewiston 07/02/08   69.   Roadmap to Peace - A Common Sense Version 21:25  |  massaraksh 07/02/08   70.   No massive invasion needed; 95% of kassams are from 5% of Gaza 21:46  |  Dr. L. Brnd 07/02/08   71.   Dream, dream....continue to dream please. 21:53