Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Future Of Warfare In The Middle East

Israel - Hezbollah War 2006 (Photo from CBS)

'Future Battlefield Will Be More Lethal' -- The Jerusalem Post

The future battlefield the IDF will face will be more difficult, lethal and uncertain, OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrachi said Wednesday during a military conference at Latrun.

Mizrachi was speaking at the third annual Latrun Conference on Maneuver in Complex Terrain, co-hosted by the IDF, the US Joint Forces Command and several leading Israeli defense industries. Over 100 military officers from close to 30 countries were present at the conference.

Read more ....

My Comment: The impact of these comments cannot be ignored. This senior Israeli General is making it very clear that in a future conflict .... the "Israeli gloves will be off". That can only mean that any future offensive will be larger and far more deadlier than previous ones, and that unlike the 2006 war where air power was primarily used .... the next conflict will be a ground offensive.

There is a frightening precedent to this type of talk. It is the Israeli military operation conducted in 1982 against the PLO in Lebanon and titled Operation Peace of the Galilee.

This war lasted from June - September 1982. Casualties were almost 30,000 killed, with 675 Israeli soldiers killed. It was a ground offensive that reached the suburbs of Beirut, and was effective in destroying the military arm of the PLO .... but it also destroyed Southern Lebanon.

Is there going to be a repeat .... but with Hezbollah being the target instead. I do know that with today's high tech and firepower .... a repeat of the 1982 conflict will result in far more deaths and destruction .... a point that OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrachi was probably trying to allude to in his speech .... but saying it in an indirect way.

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