Israel's Iron Dome Will Be Used To Shield Policy Makers Instead Of Civilians

Israel's Iron Dome defense system will not be deployed against rockets from Gaza:

IDF decides to store, not deploy, Iron Dome system

Anti-rocket defense system will be located in center of country, will be deployed only in cases of extreme rocket fire from Gaza or south Lebanon.

After months of deliberations, the IDF has decided to store the Iron Dome anti-rocket system at an air force base in the center of the country and to deploy it only in cases of extreme rocket fire from either the Gaza Strip or southern Lebanon, senior military sources said on Sunday.


The decision was made ahead of the planned announcement that Iron Dome had reached “initial operational capability,” initially scheduled for this month.

On Sunday, top IDF officers told The Jerusalem Post that the initial operational capability would be postponed until the first quarter of 2011. The delay, the officers stressed, was not due to technical malfunctions but rather to the intricate process of training IDF officers and soldiers to use the complicated weapons system.

This is in sharp contrast to the original plan:

The IDF has already identified positions along the borders with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon that can be used by the system, which includes a launcher, radar and command post.

“The idea is to have a number of locations throughout the country where we
will be able to deploy the system – basically to plug it in and have it up
and working in real time,” a defense official said.

So the question is: why the change--is it because of the cost and complexity of the system?

Dr. Aaron Lerner notes:

Why do we have the Iron Dome?

Option #1. To shield Israeli civilian targets from rocket attack.
Option #2. To shield Israeli policy makers from the imperative of addressing the growing rocket threat from Gaza and south Lebanon.

Option #1 requires a tremendous budget. And since the huge natural gas royalties and taxes Israel expects to earn from the offshore discoveries can't be banked on, we really aren't in a position to buy enough units to provide protection and instead would find ourselves, when deploying at "X" with the people and politicians associated with "Y" and "Z" etc. complaining.

Option #2 fits the bill. The technology works. And since the technology works the policy makers can indefinitely postpone military action to wipe out the ever growing number of rockets in Gaza and south Lebanon. And thanks to our collective attention spans of minutes and our collective
planning horizons of days the fact that we haven't actually taken action that effectively addresses the challenge is irrelevant. That is, of course, until the rockets start to really fly. That's when we can have another committee to investigate the failure.

If Sderot feels deserted by Netanyahu, they can commiserate with the residents of Ghajar, who feel similarly deserted by the Israeli government:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to present Israel's plan to withdraw forces from Ghajar to the United Nations on Monday, news which sparked rage and discontent in the northern village.

The 2,300 residents of the village, which straddles the Israel-Lebanon border, are having difficulty adjusting to images of the new reality to which they will be subjected and expressed rage at the fact that no one has asked them their opinion on the matter.

"Unfortunately, as usual, we are getting updates on what fate has in store for us through the media," Najib Khatib, spokesman for the village council, told Ynet.

Should we be expecting to hear as well that Bibi has caved and will extend the moratorium on the settlement freeze?

Technorati Tag: Iron Dome and Ghajar.