Weekly Commentary: Defense Without Offense Recipe For Disaster

Weekly Commentary: Defense Without Offense Recipe For Disaster
Dr. Aaron Lerner 6 October, 2019

Iran’s strike against Saudi targets was certainly stunning.

And as is unfortunately typical, this is yet another case that the military
apparently was only able to appreciate what an enemy could do with a
collection of technology they were known to posses AFTER the enemy
DEMONSTRATED what it could do.

I daresay that the apparently one-dimensional response to this development
reflects this.

I term the response one-dimensional because we are apparently going to pour
billions of dollars into detecting and intercepting the equipment that was
employed in the attack against the Saudis without any significant investment
in upgrading our ability to carry out offensive operations to address the
threat that the Jewish State faces.

This is pretty much what happened with Iron Dome.

It could have been used to reduce our exposure to attack as we carried out
operations decimating our enemy’s offensive capabilities but instead Iron
Dome has acted as a crutch to enable us to indefinitely postpone addressing
ever growing security threats.

Suffice it to say that even in an ideal world, a detection/interception
system can only intercept as many incoming platforms as it has interceptors.
And in the case of enemy platforms that feature guidance systems every
incoming platform must be intercepted.

So the a one-dimensional detection/interception response would be doomed to
failure.

Let’s not forget: we are talking about platforms that are delivering
conventional warheads.

The damage that x kilograms of explosives delivered by these particular
precision guided Iranian platforms can also be caused by an equal quantity
of explosives delivered by other precision guided platforms launched from
Lebanon or even the Gaza Strip.

Yes. We need to invest heavily today in upgrading the IDF.

But a holistic approach is crucial.
________________________________________
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