Yadlin is only the latest important military and defense figure to speak about Israel's deteriorating strategic environment. Yadlin was a general in the Israeli Air Force and currently heads IDF Military Intelligence. Speaking at Haifa University’s National Strategic Center on June 20th, Yadlin presented several factors that have contributed to Israel's deteriorating position in the eyes of the world.
The main factor, he said, was the Hamas victory in the PA elections, after convincing the Palestinian people that their terrorist actions against Israel have been successful. In addition, Hamas forced Israel into making concessions and unilaterally withdrawing from Gush Katif. Yadlin said that Hizbullah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah "was the first to claim that by military force alone he would make Israel retreat from south Lebanon, with no diplomatic compromise. This trend was positively reinforced by Israel's Disengagement from the Gaza Strip."
Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens has also come out vocally against the withdrawal, saying that Israel must reoccupy Gaza as the only way to prevent the continuation of rocket attacks on towns and cities. Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon has repeatedly said that the path of unilateral concessions and the assisting of a Hamas-controlled government will lead to a costly war.
International Jihadist Movements such as Al-Qaeda have put Israel in the spotlight, Yadlin explained, adding that recent activities emanating from Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network's continue to focus on Israel and the Middle East. "In the meantime," he said, "it has had a notable influence on the surroundings, such as terror attacks in Taba, rocket fire from Aqaba, and fire on Lebanon - and not on Israel itself."
Meanwhile, the intelligence chief added, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to research and develop nuclear technology. Yadlin noted that the development of nuclear technology was a chief reason behind the turnaround from the positive atmosphere in Israel's strategic environment from April 2002-August 2005. His election to power in June 2005 has also contributed to this change.
"General Yadlin' s analysis powerfully underscores the fact that strategic threats to Israel are worsening in part on of policies like that of further unilateral withdrawals now being pursued by the Olmert government," said Zionist Organization of America's National Chairman Michael Goldblatt in a statement distributed together with a transcript of Yadlin's words. "We urge the Olmert government again to reconsider urgently the path it is proposing to take."