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Last update - 10:54 05/03/2008
Too much to expect
By Moshe Arens
Tags: war, ehud olmert, israel

It was just too much to expect. That Ehud Olmert, the prime minister who brought us the disaster of the Second Lebanon War, had finally learned the lesson of that war. That he now understood that the only way to protect civilians from short-range rocket attacks is to have soldiers on the ground at the rocket-launching sites. That there is no substitute for this.

That the "leverage" theory - which holds that the destruction of enemy infrastructure and attacks on the enemy's civilian population will produce pressure on decision makers to cease their attacks against Israeli civilians - simply does not work in the Middle East. It did not work in Lebanon, and it certainly does not work in Gaza.

That raising the "price tag" that the Palestinian population will have to pay after every rocket attack against Israeli towns and villages has not convinced the terrorists to abstain from further violence, and will not do so. Quite the contrary, it only increases the support that the terrorists receive from the civilian population. Cutting off fuel, cutting off electricity, preventing food from reaching them is both counterproductive and immoral.
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These lessons were not learned by Olmert, and it was just wishful thinking to expect that once ground forces began moving into the Gaza Strip last week, they would be ordered to take over the rocket-launching sites and stay there as long as necessary to finally bring peace to the citizens of Sderot, Ashkelon and other communities in the vicinity of Gaza.

The victory parades in Gaza as soon as the Israel Defense Forces withdrew were only to be expected. Like Hezbollah in the Second Lebanon War, whoever gets in the last barrage of rockets is the victor in the eyes of Middle East spectators. And not only in their eyes.

It was another blow to Israel's deterrence. All the talk about the damage that has been inflicted on Hamas does not begin to equal its perception that it has won its contest with the IDF and the encouragement it will draw from this to engage in further attacks against Israeli civilians.

Hamas will have plenty of recruits to take the place of those who were killed, and lots more rockets, weapons and ammunition will be brought into the Gaza Strip to more than make up for what it lost in the past few days of fighting.

So what about the defense minister, who was expected bring some good strategic sense to the Olmert government? The wishful thinkers among us tend to forget that he was the man who unilaterally evacuated the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon, which began the cycle that led to the Second Lebanon War. He seems to have learned no lesson from that mistake.

Now, he is checking to see whether directing artillery against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is permissible under international law. He does not seem to understand that even if it is permissible, it is going to be counterproductive, and that it is impermissible by our moral standards.

And the other member of the governing trio - the foreign minister, Tzipi Livni? She seems to have only one thing on her mind, a Palestinian state. Like Olmert, she believes that Israel is finished unless a Palestinian state is established.

The former defense minister and chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz, who might have been expected to provide the cabinet with some common-sense advice based on his experience, only talks about the need for a new strategy, based on a definition of goals; as if the goal in this case were not crystal-clear - to provide protection for the civilian population living in the vicinity of Gaza. But after all, what should we expect from the man who ordered the IDF to evacuate all Israeli citizens from Gush Katif and the northern end of the Gaza Strip?

Unfortunately, we are stuck with this disaster-prone leadership. Who knows where they are going to take us before they are finally thrown out of office? They are clinging to the seats of power with the support of Shas and the Pensioners, Likud renegades and those who were given a free once-in-a-lifetime ride into the Knesset by Ariel Sharon and Olmert.

People of Israel, grin and bear it!
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  1.   A changed Moshe Arens? 11:28  |  pal 05/03/08
  2.   Too much to expect 11:38  |  Fritz 05/03/08
  3.   So who would do better? 11:49  |  spyguy 05/03/08
  4.   And from Moshe Arens..... 12:05  |  Clickfool 05/03/08
  5.   Was this really Moshe Arens....???? 12:06  |  Swiss (Dino) 05/03/08
  6.   ARENS COMMENTS 12:13  |  ARI 05/03/08
  7.   the only way is..... 12:34  |  ravi 05/03/08
  8.   So attacks on civilians is part of a strategy? 12:34  |  Mark B. 05/03/08
  9.   If Dhimmedias Want Olmert Out Means He Is Not A Loyal "Etrog" 12:38  |  Joseph . E 05/03/08
  10.   That is exactly WHY you would need peace talks 12:52  |  Kris 05/03/08
  11.   # 5 Mark B.`Life Should Be Valued Only To Those Who Torah Honor` 12:53  |  Joseph . E 05/03/08
  12.   The world is waking up, enough is enough 13:03  |  VIPER 05/03/08
  13.   India has condemned israel`s use of disproportionate force in 13:04  |  lakshmi 05/03/08
  14.   Any leader will be a `disaster` for... 13:05  |  Edith 05/03/08
  15.   Quite clearly put 13:12  |  A.M 05/03/08
  16.   Mark B 13:23  |  theolive-branch.org 05/03/08
  17.   #13 lakschmoe and a big laugh on india 13:33  |  v hardman 05/03/08
  18.   LAKSHMI 13:33  |  DANNY AUSTRALIA 05/03/08
  19.   How about a full scale annexation of Gaza? 13:34  |  Bo 05/03/08
  20.   Then consider a cease fire 13:50  |  Mark Lincoln 05/03/08
  21.   An alternative solution provided by the Syrians 14:00  |  Proud Israeli 05/03/08
  22.   Too much to expect 14:13  |  Martin 05/03/08
  23.   So what will Hamas offer? 14:32  |  Barry 05/03/08
  24.   The Tale Of The Scorpion - A Jewish Reading 14:40  |  Norman F Birnberg 05/03/08
  25.   Moshe Arens SUPERB article 14:48  |  RAY..S 05/03/08
  26.   Why don`t you offer at least one suggestion Mr. Arens? 14:52  |  Norm 05/03/08
  27.   Fighting if needed should not be as Hamas expects 14:56  |  PETER SM 05/03/08
  28.   Messiah where art thou? 14:58  |  Israel 05/03/08
  29.   click fool 15:01  |  ka 05/03/08
  30.   MARK B.Attacks on Israeli civillians has been the Pal strategy. 15:01  |  PETER SM 05/03/08
  31.   To18 15:16  |  RW 05/03/08
  32.   LIKE IT OR NOT HERE IS THE ANSWER 15:17  |  IMAN MOHAMED NAJI 05/03/08
  33.   Israel to suspend peace talks whilst rocket attacks continue 15:21  |  jeffery 05/03/08
  34.   Unfortunately, Moshe Arens is right 15:32  |  Shalom Freedman 05/03/08
  35.   Arens is right on the mark 16:07  |  Brod 05/03/08
  36.   To end a war you negotiate with your enemy not your bankrollers 16:13  |  Don Camillo 05/03/08
  37.   Moshe Arens shouts from the bench 16:14  |  Edgar 05/03/08
  38.   What They have Not Tried 16:27  |  Yaakov Sullivan 05/03/08
  39.   Why not be nice? 16:43  |  Marilyn 05/03/08
  40.   Counting the days until the next election... 16:45  |  bat yam 05/03/08
  41.   Israeli policy leading to Gaza invasion 17:13  |  Tosefta 05/03/08
  42.   only pone thing will work: a hudna w/hamas 17:13  |  Assad-u-LLAH 05/03/08
  43.   THE ONLY REASON IS THIS 18:20  |  indrajaya 05/03/08
  44.   What can one want - Tosefta 18:42  |  Mark Lincoln 05/03/08
  45.   This, Mr Arens: Bomb mass groups of terrorists in Gaza 18:44  |  John a gentile 05/03/08
  46.   Danny,Hardman,zionists,sure but those were courtesy of the US& as 18:44  |  lakshmi 05/03/08
  47.   So why not give it a try? - Tosefta 18:51  |  Mark Lincoln 05/03/08
  48.   You can`t see the wood for the trees 19:50  |  Andrew 05/03/08
  49.   Olmert needs Israel to be demoralized 19:55  |  Chris 05/03/08
  50.   Let`s have Mr. Abbas Disarm Hamas arms! 19:56  |  Yuri 05/03/08
  51.   Tosefta 19:59  |  Ravi 05/03/08
  52.   To VIPER # 12 - Beware, you`re not the only Ozzie 20:00  |  Dagma 05/03/08
  53.   troops on the ground will just change the targets EXIT PLAN?? 20:01  |  Pablo B 05/03/08
  54.   Painful Sacrifices for Peace 20:34  |  Steve 05/03/08
  55.   !!!!! 20:59  |  Colin Wright 05/03/08
  56.   Olmert has a higher priority (Mark Lincoln #47) 21:18  |  Tosefta 05/03/08
  57.   Different old news (Ravi #51) 21:22  |  Tosefta 05/03/08
  58.   I respectfully disagree with Mr. Arens 21:30  |  Jason 05/03/08
  59.   Is Israel governed by a Disaster-prone Government.... 21:40  |  Dagma 05/03/08
  60.   Disengagement from Gaza...... 22:20  |  Dolly 05/03/08
  61.   To Jason # 56 - The Rockets will stop.......... 22:31  |  Natasha 05/03/08
  62.   Click The Fool 22:34  |  PlanoStu 05/03/08
  63.   Peace Not Possible 22:41  |  Mark 05/03/08
  64.   Tosefta 22:50  |  Ravi 05/03/08
  65.   Tosefta 22:50  |  Ravi 05/03/08
  66.   Another problem here (Ravi #58) 23:37  |  Tosefta 05/03/08
  67.   Parachute Arens into Jabaliya. 23:48  |  Fortuna Benmayor 05/03/08
  68.   You are not helping 23:58  |  B 05/03/08
  69.   Reoccupying Gaza 00:02  |  B 06/03/08
  70.   Talk 00:07  |  B 06/03/08
  71.   "Our moral standards"? 00:10  |  Hadi 06/03/08
  72.