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Last update - 22:14 16/05/2008 Future imperfect By Ari Shavit Tags: Amos Yadlin Since taking over as director of Military Intelligence (MI) in January 2006, Major General Amos Yadlin has not given an interview. His predecessors also gave few interviews, and his colleagues on the present General Staff are also stingy when it comes to talking to the media. So the decision to break his silence was a difficult one for the veteran pilot. He wrestled with the decision, agonized over it, even regretted it. His mistrust of the Israeli media is deeply rooted. The trauma of the Second Lebanon War and the trauma of the tsunami of criticism that followed it pushed the mistrust to new levels. Nevertheless, after a lengthy courting period, Yadlin said yes. He reached the conclusion that it is right to apprise the Israeli public of the main points of the annual intelligence assessment that was presented to the government about two months ago. He decided that the country's citizens must be partners to the difficult challenges Israel faces. They have to know, in broad contours, what the threats are, and also the prospects. They have to know what sort of world they are living in. Advertisement