When IMRA recently posted this interview with IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, they prefaced it with this comment: [A] "I defined it from the beginning of the confrontation: the very deep internalization by the Palestinians that terrorism and violence will not defeat us, will not make us fold. If that deep internalization does not exist at the end of the confrontation, we will have a strategic problem with an existential threat to Israel. If that [lesson] is not burned into the Palestinian and Arab consciousness, there will be no end to their demands of us. Despite our military might, the region will perceive us as being even weaker. That will have an impact not only on those who are engaged in the violent struggle, but also on those who have signed agreements with us and on extremists among the Arabs in Israel. That's why this confrontation is so important. There has not been a more important confrontation since the War of Independence."If one only has time to read one item this week - or perhaps month - this is the one.
I see what they mean.[Q] Do you have a definition of victory? Is it clear to you what Israel's goal in this war is?
That's only one question and one answer, but it's a pivotal point of the interview. And while history has taught this lesson too many times, few seem able to accept it. It's not a pretty picture, but it is a realistic one. Israel won't get to peace by befriending or coddling or appeasing her enemies. She'll get there only by convincing them that their efforts to destroy her cannot succeed.
