T. Belman. This article is a warning. Unless the IDF is as motivated to defeat Hamas as Hamas is to defeat it, its superiority of arms will not suffice. To put it another way, Hamas must be utterly defeated and expelled if Israel is to survive. Wars should be fought to win, utterly, and should not be undermined with the desire not to offend the Arabs or the international community.
When referring to the “national cause”, I am sure he is not referring to the survival of Israel as the state of all its citizens but to the embrace of the Torah of Israel, the land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel) and the people of Israel (Um Yisroel).
Israel could start by referring to the IDF as the IVF (Israel Victory Force).
By Desk Blitz August 29, 2021
The American defeat in Afghanistan will have a direct impact on Israel. Like the pseudo-government foisted by the Americans on Kabul, which, despite massive investment, proved a broken reed, the PA and its security mechanisms will collapse in time against its Islamist adversaries, notably Hamas. For all its overwhelming material and technological superiority, the IDF stands no chance of defeating Israel’s Islamist enemies unless its soldiers are driven by a relentless belief in the national cause. Writes Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
To understand the last 40 years of the Islamic struggle in Afghanistan, it is worth looking at the legacy of Abdullah Azzam. Born in a small village near Jenin in 1941, he moved to Jordan after the fall of the West Bank during the Six-Day War. While there, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood and participated in activities of Palestinian terrorist organizations against Israel. He eventually went to Afghanistan, where he was a major factor in helping the mujahideen repel the Soviets. An inspirational figure and a mentor of Osama bin Laden, Azzam would come to lead thousands of volunteers from across the Islamic world as they fought in Afghanistan, earning the title the “father of global jihad.” Azzam was assassinated with his two sons in Peshawar in November 1989.
Unlike the leaders of the pan-Arab movement, from Gamal Abdul Nasser to Hafez Assad to Saddam Hussein, who failed to unite the “Arab nation” on behalf of a common struggle, Azzam managed to bring together large numbers of Muslims from different countries, clans, and tribes to participate in a “holy war”—a jihad —for the first time in the modern era.
Azzam explained his vision in simple terms:
We will fight and defeat our enemies and establish an Islamic state on a piece of land in Afghanistan … Jihad will spread and Islam will fight elsewhere. Islam will fight the Jews in Palestine and establish an Islamic state in Palestine and elsewhere. These countries will then be united into one Islamic State.
Echoing the prophet Muhammad’s key message in his farewell address (“I was ordered to fight all men until they say ‘There is no god but Allah’”), Azzam viewed the fighting in Afghanistan as the starting point for a global jihad, the ultimate goal of which was the establishment of a worldwide “Islamic Nation” (or umma). To him, the struggle in Afghanistan was a strategic opportunity for a reconnection between the religion and the military and political spheres that characterized Islam from its inception, and which were cut short with the fall of the Ottoman Empire after WWI and the abolition of the caliphate. Azzam believed achievements on the battlefield could entice millions of believers into participation in the global jihad.
When President Joe Biden expressed his confidence in the stability of the regime in Afghanistan by pointing out that “the Afghan army has 300,000 well-equipped soldiers … and they also have an air force. In contrast, the Taliban has only 75,000 soldiers,” he made clear that he has no understanding of this reality. The victory of the Taliban over the US in Afghanistan is a lesson for the world on the tremendous capacity of spiritual strength and faith to win protracted conflicts against far superior enemies.
In the first years of the war, the Americans had overwhelming superiority over the Taliban and inflicted many severe defeats upon it. But by virtue of their religious faith, the Taliban fighters were able to withstand those defeats. They believed in what is known in the Islamic faith as the “stage of weakness” (Rahlat al-Istidaf), which requires patiently biding one’s time in anticipation of opportunities. Their faith thus served as a strategy enabling them to cope with what might be a long wait.
The Americans, on the other hand, could not bear the burden of a protracted struggle without a solution in the foreseeable future. On a deeper level, they discounted the religious roots of the conflict, which are expressed, among other things, in the rejection of the message of Western-American prosperity. As Mordechai Kedar put it, “August 15, 2021 will forever be remembered in the Islamic world as the victory of Islam over Christianity, the victory of faith over heresy, and the victory of tradition over permissiveness… These events are pumping new blood into jihad arteries and the results are being seen around the world, including in Israel.”
Indeed, the American defeat will have a direct impact on Israel. Like the pseudo-government foisted by the Americans on Afghanistan, which, despite massive investment, turned out to be useless against the forces of jihad, the PA administration and its security forces will collapse in time against its Islamist adversaries, notably Hamas. Its overwhelming material and technological superiority notwithstanding, the IDF stands no chance of defeating Israel’s Islamist enemies unless its soldiers are driven by a relentless belief in the national cause.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen is a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He served in the IDF for 42 years. He commanded troops in battles with Egypt and Syria. He was formerly a corps commander and commander of the IDF Military Colleges.
It is important that they distinguish between property rights and squatter rights. They are not the same – not in the US and not in Israel. No responsible party would view them in the same light or link them in any way. The enforcement of squatters rights is often pursued by invading armies upon a subjected nation to improve the position of their chosen ally in the nation being invaded. Beyond the employment of such things, the US has never taken an equivalent position of interest on any other nation’s right to meet out such domestic issues, and certainly not to the point of enabling an illegal act over a legal act. Except in Israel. Sovereignty should be the established standard on such basic issues in every part of every sovereign nation. The only question remains is if Israel is a sovereign nation. Clearly, the US does not see them as such, save the Trump administration, since such issues have been a topic for international discussion for several administrations. So the question falls to Israel, and not for the first time, are you a sovereign nation even in your own eyes, even within the lands of your state that you do control?
@Bear
I agree with you. First things first.
In addition I do not think that we should make a serious move in Area C until Iran is neutralized.
Then the only thing we have to worry about is the US withholding their veto at the UNSC.
In Area C we must continually put facts on the ground without permission. Establish the principle that we are sovereign and don’t need permission.
Similarly we should remove Arab facts on the ground without permission.
And we should wage a campaign against the TSS and adamantly refuse to participate in it.
peloni:
The underlying theme here is that everyone in the world – or at least the Western world – is playing to an ignorant and callous media.
Israel, like the US, wants to make these “journalists” happy, but try as they might this will never happen. So why try endlessly?
Who are these people anyway, that they should expect unconditional deference?
I say, “Fie on them”. They have been the cause of more brutality everywhere in the world than all the armies, because they are the ultimate instigators.
@keelie
Indeed, knocking on rooftops prior to eliminating sensitive targets is no kabuki theater but it should be. Such humanely purposed acts betrays the very purpose of war which is to subdue your enemies, not preserve them. Once you grant them the advantage of striking with all their heart at you on every vital plain while you warn them of your attacks to save their lives, it is very much a half-hearted action which leaves you quite defeated even in victory. It also limits the harshness of war, which serves to embolden the Arab dedication towards their victory since they suffered little in a current battle, they might find victory by doubling their efforts in the next battle. Hence, it breeds hope within our enemies and tolerance for their hatred within ourselves. The exact opposite of a plan towards victory. So with high moral objectives and poor tactical sense, the resulting mission will be well accomplished with maintaining an eternal state of war, til the warriors with the more clearly established aims are finally themselves victorious. Our very survival is dependent on being victorious every time. Our utter ruin requires them to be victorious but once.
Gantz is a weakling and that goes for most of the IDF top brass
Jeffers,
Yes, you are right, but rather than constantly threaten others, it would be better for the IDF to approach all this knowing internally that this is a viable option. Bragging that “we will use them” is a sign of weakness – all talk – but actually using them?… Well look at how quickly the Japanese capitulated to the US after the latter used them (although apparently there were some Japanese who insisted on fighting on… such is the nature of pure fanaticism).
There’s no such thing as a “kinder gentler war”.
Where are today these kind of guys who in Casablanca – February 2nd 1943 – clearly stated that they would be nothing else but UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER of nazi Germany and imperial Japan and explained that the human right will win over slavery and darkness ? Since Vietnam , the USA are driven by clueless technocrats and bent back wrist armchair philosophers ( Gradual escalation by Mc Namara ended in shameful escape in Saigon ) .
Israel is half drowning into the moral ineptitude of Peace Now self loathing trotskys who are the opinion makers .Time to open our mouths, unseal our eyes and overthrow the chessboard .
I feel that Israel is far too coy about her nuclear weapons, she should threaten to use them massively if Iran should aquire the bomb and use it on Israel. Or for that matter against Hezbolla in an existential situation. Being so coy about her nukes may destroy the credibility of their very existence or Israel’s will to use them!
I would be interested in other people’s thoughts on this?
Israel needs the will to expel Hamas from Gaza. This requires taking it over again physically. The desire is not there yet to do this and the timing is also not correct.
Israel will first need to deal with the Iranian and Hezbollah threat, as these are the far bigger threats. Israel can not get bogged down with 1000s of soldiers in Gaza until the other threats are dealt with.
That and the same way America defeated Japan in WW11 with overwhelming force , utterly defeated that is the only way Israel can win. Totally demoralise the enemy . They must have no hope what so ever. The defeat must be etched into their memory.Defeat them on the diplomatic front. Defeat them in every way. General Patton said ‘May G-D have mercy on my enemies because I won’t’