Among the revelations:
Six hours before the Egyptians started crossing the Suez canal, then-Prime Minister Golda Meir convened an urgent consultation. Chief of Staff David "Dado" Elazar supported an advance strike and a wide call-up of reserves, saying it would save many lives. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan objected. We can't afford it this time, he said; what would the world say? Meir agreed. An advance attack is appealing but this wasn't 1967; the world won't believe us, she reportedly said. Army intelligence was ambiguous, not convinced that Egypt and Syria really meant war, although they had everything in place. "They know they're going to lose," the intelligence chief said.[emphasis added]Letting world opinion dictate Israeli security concerns was nearly disastrous then.
If anything, the problem has only gotten worse.
Technorati Tag: Yom Kippur War.
And all of those Israeli figures were forced to resign or leave office over their failures.
ReplyDeleteIsrael cannot afford to pay too much attention to world opinion. When it comes push to shove, the Jews will be alone as they always have been, when it is their existence that is on the line.