Don't transform the IDF victory into a defeat

The Gaza war is far from over and we still face great danger in the days and weeks ahead. But we can be grateful that in this war, the IDF with new leaders at its helm demonstrated that it had learned from the failures and disarray of the Second Lebanon War  in the summer of 2006.

Aside from the tragic loss of lives in the "friendly fire" disaster, the IDF performance has been exemplary and suggests that the recommendations of the Winograd Committee have been implemented. The initial air force attacks which in 4 minutes effectively destabilized the Hamas command structure and destroyed strategic targets in over 40 locations, demonstrated outstanding operational skill and the optimum exploitation of intelligence. The ground offensive maximized Israel's high grade weapons in order to minimize Israeli military and Palestinian non-combatant casualties. Mobilization, training of reserves and clear battle plans contrasted with the chaos which prevailed during the Lebanon war. The IDF unquestionably redeemed its image as the guardian of the nation, confirming that today it is still one of the most effective armies in the world.

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Jewish Doves urge Obama to pressure Israel

"Dovish" American Jewish groups are frenziedly urging the incoming Obama Administration to prioritize pressuring Israel to make further unilateral concessions.

Although it is idle speculation to try to predict the policy that President-elect Barack Obama is likely to adopt in relation to Israel, one would be tempted to assume that the Middle East would, in these times, be low in his order of priorities and he would primarily be concentrating his energies on the devastating domestic economic meltdown.

Although undertakings made during elections are frequently repudiated, we can take comfort in the fact that over the course of the election campaign, Obama's stance towards Israel became increasingly supportive.  My impression of Obama is that he seems to be more of a pragmatist than a hard core ideologue

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