Permanent war is all that Israel can imagine, writes Amin Howeidi* Following the 1973 War, the Agranat Commission tried to ascertain why Israel was taken by surprise in the early hours of the war, and whose responsibility this was. Then Military Intelligence Chief Elie Zeira, responding to the commission's enquiry, tried to absolve himself from all blame. It was with this aptitude for denial that Israeli officials reacted to the findings of the Winograd Commission. This much is clear from the assertions of Israel's Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai, who not long ago promised a "holocaust" in Gaza. And yet, the warnings continue. The annual report of the Israeli intelligence service paints a grim picture of the country's security situation, noting that foreign threats are significant and coming from more than one front. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hastened to reassure the public, saying that Israel is capable of handling all threats. His assurance may have been timely, but is wishful thinking. Israel has failed to mix "hard force" with "soft power", opting mostly for the former. Hard force may be dazzling for a while, but it backfires in the end. This is the lesson one learns from the history of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Communist Russia. Israel claims to be a country embedded in history, but ironically it has little clue as to what history is all about. Israel has stolen land from the Palestinians and now is trying to expel the remaining Palestinians to steal more land. Israel has started a fire, poured oil on it, and now is wondering why it keeps raging. Washington hasn't been helping. Out of loyalty to Israel, it has given it just enough rope to hang itself. Even Henry Kissinger admitted as much. Israel, he once mentioned, keeps complaining about its security, but the more arms the US gives it the more it turns its back on peace. And the more the Arabs make concessions, the less interested Israel becomes in a deal. Iran was once a close friend of Israel and now is its sworn enemy. Lebanon was once a peaceful country, but Israel kept pushing it around until Hizbullah came onto the scene. Israel turned down the peace gestures of Yasser Arafat and now a new generation of militants is sworn to war. The Israelis are better at making enemies than making peace. The Israelis are the ones who have turned stones in the hands of children into Kalashnikovs in the hands of grown-ups. They pushed the Palestinians into a corner, and now they complain when the latter strap on explosive belts. Israel is too stuck in the past to see the future. Since its inception, Israel has been fighting a permanent war, with no clear endgame in sight. Israel is not fighting for peace, but for the sake of fighting. And its obsession with war is alienating even its customary friends. One day, Europe and the Russian Federation may start rethinking their positions. Israeli intelligence and media spoke of this eventuality. But Israel's leaders are somewhere else. They stand at the edge of the abyss and claim to see a better future ahead. * The writer is former defence minister and chief of General Intelligence.
