TEL AVIV — Israel's failure to defeat Hizbullah in the 2006 war
has eroded U.S. confidence in its leading Mideast ally, a prominent security official said.
The Institute for National Security Studies, formerly the Jaffee Center
for Strategic Studies, said the Lebanon war eroded Israeli deterrence among
Arabs and others in the Middle East, Middle East Newsline reported. The institute, in one of the most
scathing reports published in decades, said the war exposed Israel's
weaknesses and placed the Jewish state in a worse strategic position.
"The war in Lebanon underscored the problematic and fluctuating nature
of Israel's strategic environment, damaged Israel's deterrent image, and
exposed weaknesses in the Israel Defense Forces and the decision-making
process in Israel," the institute said in a report released on Tuesday.
Giora Eiland, a reserve major general who until mid-2006 was
the head of Israel's National Security Council, also reported deep disappointment within the Bush administration
over Israel's performance in the 2006 war.
The former Israeli official said
he doubted whether the White House, out of fear that the operation would
fail, would approve Israeli air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
"There is a harsh disappointment of us in the United States," Eiland
said. "We didn't supply the goods. It embarrassed our friends in the United
States, our friends in Congress. It has long-range repercussions."
[On Tuesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz again rejected
calls for his resignation. Halutz said the government has not suggested such
a move.]
The institute, which released its annual Middle East Military Balance,
reported a deterioration in regional security and stability. Researchers
cited the continuation of the Palestinian war against Israel, Iran's nuclear
weapons program, and the failure of the United States to stabilize Iraq.
"Israel's strategic environment of 2006 is problematic," the institute
said.
Most of the researchers, including institute director Zvi Shtauber,
avoided discussing the consequences of the war on Israel's deterrence. The
exception was Eiland.
Eiland said Israel's failure to defeat Hizbullah would have significant
and long-term repercussions in the country's relations with the United
States and the Arab world. He said Hizbullah's firing of 4,500 rockets into
Israel during the 34-day war has led Syria to consider opening a front along
the Golan Heights.
Another casualty of the Hizbullah war could be Israel's peace treaty
with Egypt. Eiland said Egypt, determining a weakness in Israel's resolve,
could
deploy heavy weapons platforms in the eastern Sinai Peninsula in
violation of the 1979 accord.
Eiland said Israel's military doctrine — based on the expectation that
air power could defeat an enemy — failed in Lebanon. He called for a review
of Israel's military tactics and concepts, saying this was more important
than arms procurement.
"The Israeli military made mistakes in doctrine and the question is
whether this will change," Eiland said. "I am not sure."
