Mideast expert lays out Israel’s missteps in its war on Hizbullah

by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

Israel’s recent war against Hizbullah, while degrading some of the terrorist group’s armaments, failed in many other respects, according to an expert on Middle East affairs.

David Schenker, senior fellow in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told members of the Highland Park Conservative Temple Sept. 12 that Israel’s failure to map out clear objectives and its allowing the war to drag on for so long prevented it from being more successful.

“Everybody in Israel supported the war at the beginning,” said Schenker. “Israel deployed 30,000 troops for the eradication of Hizbullah.”

However, Hizbullah proved to be a more formidable foe than Israel had faced in previous wars and was able to expose weaknesses in Israel’s defenses. In the middle of the war, Israel had to be resupplied with “smart” bombs and bunker-busting armaments by the United States.

And even during the last week of the war, some of the 3,970 rockets fired by Hizbullah were still hitting Israeli communities despite large-scale Israeli air attacks on their positions.

“Israel set unachievable goals,” explained Schenker. “Hizbullah, on the other hand, set very achievable goals.”

At the end of the war, said Schenker, Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said, “If Hizbullah was still standing it wins…. Yes, Israel degraded Hizbullah, but was that really the objective?”

While military officials urged the government to set less lofty goals, the government chose a different strategy. Soon the conflict had various objectives — the return of the kidnapped soldiers and dealing a blow to Hizbullah among them — which by Israel’s own estimation would have taken six to eight weeks to achieve. Yet, it also accepted that outside pressure would only allow it to operate unimpeded for half that time.

“So why didn’t the government ask for a three-week plan?” asked Schenker, who said Israel was used to fighting quick wars against weak enemies.

Schenker — formerly the Pentagon’s top policy aide on Arab countries of the Levant, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories — laid out the grim toll of the war: 1,000 Lebanese and 43 Israeli civilians dead, $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage in Lebanon, and 6,000 destroyed or damaged Israeli homes. The war also caused an estimated $1.4 billion in lost revenue for businesses in northern Israel and cost the Israeli government $2.5 billion.

The length of the war and the deaths of Lebanese civilians fed the building of public opinion against Israel.

“At the beginning of the war there was an unprecedented level of support for Israel,” said Schenker. “There was an absence of any criticism by any European nation for actually launching air raids over Lebanon, not a peep. There was a widespread perception in the West that what Hizbullah did was unacceptable. Even in the Arab world, in Lebanon, many of the people I spoke to in the media and politics were quietly applauding Israel.”

As the war dragged on and the media broadcast images of destroyed apartment buildings and dead and wounded Lebanese children, however, much of that support began to erode.

“Hizbullah fought better than any Arab army ever did,” he said. “Israel prides itself on being the best army in the Middle East, and they probably are, but Hizbullah put up a hell of a fight. [Israel] needs to be better prepared next time.

“We also learned in that fight that Israel has spent too much time in Gaza and the West Bank and not enough time training for these types of wars. We have the same thing in Iraq, in which we’re operating in an urban war. They really need to rethink the role of reservists. They were not properly equipped and did not receive enough training.”

Schenker spoke at the first program of the year for the synagogue’s American Jerusalem Academy. The program, held at the YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley, was also the first temple event held since an Aug. 24 fire caused extensive damage to its building.

“We are keeping all our programming intact,” said Rabbi Eliot Malomet, who also said the program was symbolic of the congregation’s desire to remain a center for Jewish learning despite “a major setback.”

Schenker also addressed the crisis in leadership in Israel, now threatening the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Schenker said a recent poll found that 74 percent of Israelis believe Defense Minister Amir Peretz should resign.

Adding to that disaffection are other scandals that have rocked the government, including an accusation of sexual assault, wiretapping offenses, and bribery against President Moshe Katzav that may soon force his resignation. Other scandals include charges of sexual and accounting improprieties leveled against other high-ranking government officials as well as a housing scandal in which Olmert himself has been implicated.

“All of this,” said Schenker, “points to an issue of morality for Israelis.”

Despite the gloom in Israel, however, Schenker is optimistic that the West will eventually emerge victorious from the protracted fight with militant Islam.

“I believe we have something better to offer — freedom and democracy. It will no doubt be a long and difficult struggle, but there is no doubt our values are more appealing.”