Vol. 15: Routine Security - The Campaign Between Wars - Part A.

04.03.18

The 15^th issue of The Dado Center Journal (DCJ) is dedicated to the strategy of Routine Security or The Campaign between Wars, and includes two sections. The first section – Between Theory and Practice -discusses the general concept of Routine Security and its relationship with the basic Ben-Gurion Security Concept, and more specifically raises questions regarding deterrence and escalation in Israeli conflicts. The second section – Between Practice and Theory - will provide the reader with the unique perspective of commanders during the 2015-2016 Wave of Terror. The section describes their experiences as they faced lone wolf terror attacks with no address, and their efforts to deter it without further escalating the situation.

Dr. Yagil Henkin opens the issue. His main claim is that Routine Security is the practical embodiment of another, informal security concept, formulated by Moshe Dayan. The main objective, according to this concept, is to create cumulative deterrence through continuous actions (retaliations) either directly against the threat or against its sponsor. The second article, by Col. Eran Ortal, points out that in the two years preceding Operation Protective Edge Israel stopped taking counterterrorist actions in the Gaza Strip – thus deviating from the traditional Routine Security strategy. The conclusion of the article is that as long as Hamas enjoys a zone of immunity in which it can build up its strength and excavate freely, it will learn, and perhaps even overcome, the Israeli barrier being built on the Gaza border. In the third article, General (res.) Gershon HaCohen argues that the role of settlement in our defense doctrine must be strengthened. According to HaCohen, the IDF should return to its former approach that combines the response of regular military forces with local civilians acting as participants in regional defense. The fourth article, by Yaniv Friedman, suggests that Israel used attrition as a strategy against Fatah in Lebanon between 1970 and 1972, due to Israel's ability to sustain a cumulative combat effort. Friedman recommends using attrition as a key to exploiting our opponents' weaknesses even today, as we face current challenges. In the fifth article, Dr. Dan Schueftan attributes the Israeli success over decades of Routine Security to four complementary components: deterrence, national resilience, moral restraint and the strong Israeli drive to overcome and rebuild. A prudent strategy will find the proper balance between these four elements, and will have the ability to adjust to varying and dynamic strategic contexts.

Opening the issue's second section, the sixth article by General Roni Numa and the Central Command's Organizational Advisor, Rom Liraz, defines the events that the two experienced during the 2015-2016 Wave of Terror as a situational surprise. The recovery from being confronted with a new and unfamiliar form of terrorism took time, because it required the IDF to undergo a real learning process and to formulate new understandings. General Lior Carmeli, Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division during these events, continues General Numa's argument in the issue's eighth article. He describes how a concept that included multi-dimensional solutions was formulated based on analysis and segmentation of the Palestinian population as well as a policy of differentiation between subpopulations. The combination of solutions described in the article eventually led to a significant decline in violence and to stabilization of the area. The last article is written by Col. Roman Gofman, the Commander of the Etzion Brigade during the events. He describes the civilianization of the battlefield and the struggles of the military establishment to understand this and act accordingly. Gofman claims that the change finally came about due to a learning process the IDF went through, one that came to fruition with the development of an approach that distinguishes between using decisive logic against terrorism, and creating deterrence and moderation within the rest of the population.