Lessons Learned?
Ralph Peters's NY Post column has a checklist of things that should've been learned from Israel's tepid war with Hezbollah. I wonder if they've truly been learned. Let's take a look at his list of lessons:
Lesson 3 shouldn't have to be re-learned after the Powell Plan's annihilation in Operation Desert Storm. Going in with overwhelming force is the only way to destroy the enemy. Olmert's tepid approach to the war was doomed to failure before it started.
That ties into Lesson 4. Because Olmert didn't grasp Hezbollah's willpower. The US wanted him to clean house on Hezbollah. That's why they kept pushing for "a sustainable ceasefire." When Olmert didn't go for Hezbollah's throat, the Bush administration rightly pulled its support for Israel and shifted into full diplomacy mode. Why should the US put itself in that position if Israel won't take advantage of the opportunity?
Had Israel fought a less civil war, Hezbollah would've noticed. That would've pushed them to either change tactics or get killed sticking with the status quo. For Israel, that would've been a 'Heads, I win, tails you lose' proposition.
I'd recommend a couple things going forward.
1. Ignore the media's coverage when in war, with the exception of the embeds' reporting. Today's media plays up the 'blood angle' so it's impossible to fight wars without taking a major media hit.
2. Don't pussyfoot around when fighting a war where we endanger our troops in trying to limit collateral damage. It's time that we accepted the fact that innocent people die in war. Col. Peters is right that we won't like it but it'll produce sharper victories and more fear of our military.
3. We should outlaw air-only wars. They're useless against a dug-in opponent. You need tanks and boots on the ground to show the enemy that your only intent is on killing him. Killing people and breaking things is the only way to tell the enemy that you're serious about winning.
Another thing that's apparent is that Olmert's cobbled-together 'government' is about to fall apart. Good riddance. That party wasn't equipped to handle security matters, which is Israel's biggest need in these times.
Haaretz is calling for Olmert's ousting:
Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 11:57 PM
July 2006 Posts
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- Lesson 1: You can win every tactical engagement and still lose at the strategic level.
- Lesson 2: The global media can overturn the verdict of the battlefield.
- Lesson 3: If you start off on the wrong foot in war, you may never recover your balance.
- Lesson 4: Technology alone can't win 21st-century wars.
- Lesson 5: Never underestimate your enemy.
- Lesson 6: In war, take the pain up front, and the overall suffering will be far less.
- Lesson 7: Terrorism is no longer a limited, diffuse, disorganized threat.
Lesson 3 shouldn't have to be re-learned after the Powell Plan's annihilation in Operation Desert Storm. Going in with overwhelming force is the only way to destroy the enemy. Olmert's tepid approach to the war was doomed to failure before it started.
That ties into Lesson 4. Because Olmert didn't grasp Hezbollah's willpower. The US wanted him to clean house on Hezbollah. That's why they kept pushing for "a sustainable ceasefire." When Olmert didn't go for Hezbollah's throat, the Bush administration rightly pulled its support for Israel and shifted into full diplomacy mode. Why should the US put itself in that position if Israel won't take advantage of the opportunity?
Can we win "Eastern" wars with Western values? I doubt it. This question is going to eat at our consciences for years to come, even as we learn to do what must be done.Exactly right, Col. Peters. I've long thought that the best way to defeat an opponent is to defeat the enemy's strength. That was Vince Lombardi's tactic when he was winning championships in Green Bay. Bear with me on this because it applies here. Lombardi knew that if you could defeat the other side's strength, it put a stamp of dominance and authority on the fight. That often led to the demoralization and the disorganization of his opponents.
Despite media lies about Israeli "atrocities," the IDF has been doing all it can to spare civilians. For example, the Israelis repeatedly risked commando teams deep in hostile territory to take out Hezbollah command-and-control cells, instead of just leveling the crowded apartment buildings where the terrorists were hiding. But, ultimately, all of the special operations in the world will fall far short of delivering decisive, crushing victories. We are going to have to learn to fight by the enemy's rules. And we aren't going to like it.
Had Israel fought a less civil war, Hezbollah would've noticed. That would've pushed them to either change tactics or get killed sticking with the status quo. For Israel, that would've been a 'Heads, I win, tails you lose' proposition.
I'd recommend a couple things going forward.
1. Ignore the media's coverage when in war, with the exception of the embeds' reporting. Today's media plays up the 'blood angle' so it's impossible to fight wars without taking a major media hit.
2. Don't pussyfoot around when fighting a war where we endanger our troops in trying to limit collateral damage. It's time that we accepted the fact that innocent people die in war. Col. Peters is right that we won't like it but it'll produce sharper victories and more fear of our military.
3. We should outlaw air-only wars. They're useless against a dug-in opponent. You need tanks and boots on the ground to show the enemy that your only intent is on killing him. Killing people and breaking things is the only way to tell the enemy that you're serious about winning.
Another thing that's apparent is that Olmert's cobbled-together 'government' is about to fall apart. Good riddance. That party wasn't equipped to handle security matters, which is Israel's biggest need in these times.
Haaretz is calling for Olmert's ousting:
If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. Chutzpah has its limits. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month, wear down deterrent power, bring the next war very close, and then say oops, I made a mistake.Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer agreed on FNS's Roundtable that Olmert's government would soon collapse for the ineptitude that he showed in prosecuting this war. That isn't acceptable to Israelis.
There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army's original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented.That's no way to fight a war. It's time for him to go.
Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 11:57 PM
July 2006 Posts
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