IDF reveals defense strategy for first time in 60 years - Lilach Shoval

by Lilach Shoval

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot releases document affording public a rare glimpse into Israel's defense doctrine • New strategy strives to meet multidimensional threats, underscores cyberwarfare, counterintelligence, and force-building efforts.

 

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot | Photo credit: Yossi Zeliger

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday released, for the first time in 60 years, a document outlining Israel's defense strategy.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot's decision to make the document public is considered highly unusual, as it affords a rare glimpse into Israel's defense doctrine for the first time since the 1950s, when then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion approved the principles of the military's defense strategy. 

In the introduction to the document, titled "IDF Strategy," Eizenkot states that the military's basic operational strategy is based on the "security triangle" -- a term coined by Ben-Gurion -- comprising the elements of "deterrence," "early warning," and "decisive victory," with the addition of a new dimension -- defense.

"The new strategy will be the basis for the processes the IDF will pursue as part of the Gideon plan," the introduction said, referring to the military's multi-year work plan.

The plan has yet to be approved by the government, and some aspects of it contradict the Locker report, suggesting extensive cuts in defense spending. 

A military source told Israel Hayom that while the document is titled "IDF Strategy," its outline represents the "Eizenkot doctrine."

The 33-page long document reviewed the changes the IDF has undergone and plans to implement in the future, to meet the challenges posed by Middle East dynamics. 

Some of the changes include improving the effectiveness of ground maneuvers, enhancing the IDF's cyber capabilities, and preserving clear intelligence advantage and air and maritime operational superiority.

Eizenkot explains that the new strategy is based on the understanding that the conventional and unconventional first-circle threats Israel faces, meaning threats looming on its borders, are decreasing, while the threats posed by terrorist organizations, projectile fire and cyberattacks are increasing.

The first principle of the national security strategy outlined in the brief is "relying on a defensive security strategy," that strives "to ensure Israel's existence, generate effective deterrence, defer conflict and, if necessary, neutralize threats." 

The principles of military offensive are also outlined, stating the IDF's basic operational premise is that defeating the enemy solely via defensive tactics is impossible. 

The third principle notes the importance of strategic cooperation, including bolstering defense ties with the U.S. and fostering strategic ties with other key countries.

'Enemy eyes Islamic rule' 

A key characteristic of regional dynamics "is the fact that the enemy strives to impose Islamic rule across the Middle East, including in Israel. [The enemy] seeks to exhaust Israeli society, as it assumes it will prove to have little resilience," the document said. 

Outlining the enemy's operational principles, the chief of staff's brief noted the threat posed by sub-state entities, especially Iranian-sponsored terrorist organization, has increased, as these groups now strive for territorial expansion and sovereignty.

To properly meet these challenges, especially during war, the military will have to end the next campaign with a decisive victory that would allow it to dictate cease-fire terms, it would have to significantly reduce the damage inflicted on the homefront, it would have to establish an improved security situation on the ground following the conflict -- one that would undermine the enemy's ability to resume its force-building efforts -- and it would have to preserve the legitimacy to use force. 

The document stressed that the main approach to achieving decisive victory is cunningly using offensive maneuvers that play on the enemy's weaknesses, thus using the IDF's comparative advantages to ensure it achieves its "shock and awe" objectives.

While the military proved reluctant to use ground forces during its last few campaigns, the document officially states that one of the principles guiding the new strategy is engaging all relevant forces in "immediate maneuvers." Moreover, the military's cyber capabilities will be used to support both its defensive and offensive maneuvers, across all branches and on all levels. 

Another important tier of the new strategy, put on paper officially for the first time, is the need to "reduce civilian, border-adjacent vulnerabilities," in a manner that would see the IDF evacuate communities that would be placed under imminent danger by the fighting. 

It is believed the latter was one of the conclusions drawn from 2014's Operation Protective Edge, during which there was no organized evacuation of the communities adjacent to the Israel-Gaza Strip border.

Setting clear priorities 

Eizenkot's document included a lengthy review of the military's need and intent to diversify operational capabilities in the "campaign between the wars," a concept describing the IDF and the intelligence community's efforts to monitor and undermine the force-building capabilities of Israel's enemies. 

CBW represents a series of clandestine military operations, both defensive and offensive, routinely carried out by the military. 

The document further details some of the military's strategy when dealing with non-bordering nations, presumably including Iran. Dealing with such nations "is largely based on CBW ... to the point of offensive efforts meant to undermine the enemy's strength, limit its scope of operations and thwart its intentions and abilities." 

The section dealing with the concept of command and control and organizational methodologies during wartime states: "The chief of staff is the commander of the military during wartime, and he oversees all IDF operations through the Military Command. ... The Military Command comprises the chief of staff and the General Staff; it is the only military echelon to maintain regular, ongoing contact with the government, and it is the only one that can translate [government] guidelines into military operations."

Addressing the IDF's own force-building efforts, the document said the military must accelerate the development, procurement, and implementation of new technologies. 

Pursuing the force-building efforts outlined in the Gideon plan will "enable accurate, multidimensional firepower capabilities, in the shortest amount of time, across an extensive target bank," the document said, adding that bolstering the IDF's strike formations will be a priority for GOC Army Headquarters' force-building efforts.

The brief also affords a glimpse into the scope of its target bank, citing "tens of thousands of targets" in the northern sector and "thousands" of targets in the Gaza Strip sector. 

Military priorities will continue to favor developing the IDF's offensive capabilities, as it must maintain them on several fronts and dimensions -- on the ground, in the air and at sea -- simultaneously. 

The document further notes the new strategy strives to improve operational capabilities deep behind enemy lines, with the aim of allowing troops to raid enemy targets even without access to direct supply lines. 

The last chapter of Eizenkot's document focuses on human capital: "The IDF has always drawn its strength from the quality of its personnel and the deep [public] understanding that the military guarantees Israel's national existence. The IDF will spare no effort to defend and protect Israel under any circumstances, while exhausting the core characteristics of its commanders and soldiers: a fighting spirit, initiative and quality operation, and the uncompromising desire to achieve our objectives."

Lilach Shoval

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=27591

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