A perception that has become deeply rooted in the Israeli consciousness holds that the purpose of the military effort is the political settlement.
Military action in itself is of no use if it is not translated into political achievements. This way of thinking causes many senior IDF officials to think as statesmen instead of as commanders.
But if we examine Israel's systems over the years, we will sadly discover that instead of statesmen reaping the fruits of military achievements, they squandered them.
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe cried out about this again and again, with terrible heartache - how is it possible that soldiers gave their lives in war, and God performed visible miracles for them and bestowed victories upon them, and then the politicians came and 'sold' the great achievements in exchange for a lentil stew of worthless papers.
Agreements intended to be violated
One can examine all the political arrangements over the years and see how worthless they were, while military achievements created a new and better reality. In the Middle East, agreements have no value, and even when they are signed, the other side intends to violate them.
And did the Egyptians uphold the ceasefire agreement of the summer of 1970, which stipulated that the parties would not change the status quo on the ground? Two days after the signing, the Egyptians advanced missile batteries towards the Suez Canal, and in the Yom Kippur War, these batteries destroyed Israeli Air Force aircraft.
Look at all the political arrangements that were made in Lebanon, after the First and Second Lebanon Wars. Were any of those beautiful summaries fulfilled? We were left with the signed papers, while our enemies blatantly violated everything, and now our soldiers had to shed their blood to destroy the monstrous formation that was built there in violation of the arrangements they signed.
And what was the Oslo Accords? We received beautiful ceremonies and mountains of documents, and the basic and main commitment of the Palestinian Authority was that it would stop terrorism.
In return, we handed over the territories, the IDF withdrew from the Arab cities, and soon the country was swept away by a horrific wave of terror and exploding buses. The politicians had a hard time believing that the 'partner' with the whiskers, who received the Nobel Peace Prize, was the one pulling the strings of terror.
Security returned only after we stopped relying on political arrangements and returned to military action in Operation Defensive Shield, which restored security control throughout Judea and Samaria. Here is further proof that military achievement brings results while political action wastes them.
Determination in the political campaign
There is great hope that the bitter lesson will be learned, and that we will not repeat the mistakes of the past. In general, it seems that in the current war, the various soul-stirring gloves that were worn in the past by our soldiers have been removed. They are not afraid to blow up mosques, schools, hospitals that are used by terrorist organizations. They are not afraid to take down entire buildings that have weapons buried inside or in their basements.
This determination is well-received throughout the entire Middle East, and it is intended to make it clear to all our enemies that the rules of the game have changed.
Let us pray that this determination will not be shaken in the political campaign, and that this time we will not rely on papers but will ensure through actions that no further threat will be created to the cities of Israel, and that the Lord God of hosts will be with us.
