Earlier today I wrote:
As a member of the Knesset Subcommittee on Intelligence Sa'ar Is Up To Speed
At this critical time, the Jewish State needs statesmen and not a room of like-minded brass.
Thanks to his very active participation in the Knesset Subcommittee on Intelligence, Secret Services, and POWs/MIAs, civilian MK Gideon Sa'ar is up to speed to take the position of defense minister.
We have a long history of civilians knowing better than brass.
The most dramatic example is Amir Peretz - the civilian ridiculed by a photograph of him looking through capped binoculars.
If you understand Hebrew I urged you to listen to this audio (which has an English translation): MK Peretz describes how he bucked the brass and insisted that the IAF first destroy long range missiles at start of 2nd Lebanon War.
MK Amir Peretz described in a live interview broadcast on the noon news magazine of IDF Radio on 15 September 2013 how, as Minister of Defense at the start of the Second Lebanon War, he insisted that the first IAF Operation of the war be to destroy Hezbollah's long-range missiles despite the strong recommendation of the military that the first operation focus on striking other targets. This decision has been recognized as one of the critical good decisions of the war.
Back to the present.
We need to think beyond Wednesday, September or even 2024. The like-minded brass, including the current Minister of Defense, have shown in their recent policy recommendations that they are incapable of doing this.
I want to be clear here.
Sa'ar has warts.
But as the People of the Book we are used to our leaders having warts.
Even Moses made a mistake. The Bible tells us he paid dearly for his error by being denied entry to the Promised Land.
If Sa'ar wasn't a very active participation in the Knesset Subcommittee on Intelligence, Secret Services, and POWs/MIAs I would be terrified by the idea that he could take the place of Gallant as we, hopefully, launch a war to destroy Hezbollah's long and medium range rockets and guided missiles in Lebanon.
But he is.
So remember this when you hear the talking heads slamming the move.
Afterword: My hope of hopes is that this drama is just a ploy to convince our enemies (and allies?) that we aren't about to launch a massive surprise opening attack.
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And now:
Well, it is a few hours later and things have just changed. At least in Beirut....
Now the question is more if the operation just carried out is for the purposes of "deterrence" or to facilitate a massive strike now against Hezbollah's rockets and missiles etc.
I fervently hope that the latter is the case.
Because, as we have learned the hard way, deterrence is terribly short lived.
There's a binder on a shelf. A "playbook" which includes thousands of Hezbollah pagers detonating. I can accept the possibility that prior to this Tuesday it was assumed thatthe detonation of the pagers would take place within the context of a different scenario.
But there's another binder on the shelf with a playbook which we have been constantly practicing and updating. The operation to take out Hezbollah's long and medium range rockets and guided missiles.
So here we are.
With a golden window of opportunity as Hezbollah's command and control is seriously crippled.
I wonder: will we pull that second binder off the shelf tonight or hand over our destiny to Hezbollah by waiting for a retaliatory strike?
Will Binyamin Netanyahu opt to go down in history as a "profile in courage" or "profile of a perpetual can kicker"?
Dr Aaron Lerner heads IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis, since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations Website: www.imra.org.il