On the first anniversary of the beginning of the Second Lebanon War, Arutz-7's Yigal Shok spoke with Col. Kobi Marom, a resident of the Golan Heights and a former IDF commander of the eastern sector in Lebanon. Shok first asked about the general feeling in the north.
"There is concern and disappointment, perhaps even anger, among many people here," Marom said. "Something very significant has to happen in order to convince them that something has changed in the army... Public confidence in the army has dwindled - but a positive sign is that the IDF is very deep into learning the lessons from last year, in the understanding that public confidence is very important. The army is taking long-ranging steps to truly improve in many aspects in the standing army and the reserve forces."
Asked about the kidnapping of the two IDF soldiers that sparked the Second Lebanon War, Marom said, "It was a failure on both the operative and intelligence levels. Today, the army is much better prepared. This does not mean that a similar incident can't happen again tomorrow; we are dealing with a clever and proactive enemy, and the next kidnapping attempt will certainly not be like the previous one, but I hope that we will be able to stop it."
A-7: "How do you relate to Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Kaplinsky's statement that there will not be another war this summer?"
Marom: "As a resident of the Golan, and as someone who was in the army for tens of years, I can say that the situation in the north vis-a-vis both Syria and Hizbullah is not stable. But the army is taking many measures, and I do not believe that we are facing an armed clash... It's true that our deterrence suffered a blow last summer, but despite this, the Syrians understand that our forces have a clear superiority over theirs and that we would deal them a severe blow. It's true that they can fire missiles over to Israel, but this threat has been around for years... Neither side wants a war. The Israeli deterrence against Syria is still effective."
Col. Marom expects that the Winograd Report on the government's handling of the war will be carefully studied and implemented. "We now understand, and I hope our government understands as well, that going out to war, even if it is justified, is a very complex process that requires very many assessments and tests that, unfortunately, did not happen last year."
Col. Marom, who lives in N'vei Ativ in the northern Golan, said that tourism in the north is doing very well: "It is very heart warming to see the many visitors coming here from in and out of Israel. The trend is definitely positive, and I invite everyone to continue to this beautiful area."