DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER SNEH COMMENTS ON THE MOD

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 005003

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS IS LE
SUBJECT: DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER SNEH COMMENTS ON THE MOD
BUDGET, LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LEBANON WAR

REF: TEL AVIV 4995

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (S) During a December 26 meeting with the Ambassador
(discussion of efforts to remove obstacles to movement in the
West Bank and other issues reported reftel),Deputy Defense
Minister Efraim Sneh candidly discussed the MOD's
dissatisfaction with the 2007 budget as well as the IDF's
lessons learned from last summer's war in Lebanon. Sneh said
the GOI's 2007 budget currently under discussion in the
Knesset reduced the defense appropriation to NIS 35 billion,
which he stated was not enough to cover the need to reequip
the IDF and simultaneously address homeland security needs.
Specifically, Sneh commented, taking into consideration
intelligence assessments that a war with Syria may occur in
spring or summer 2007 and given Syria's extensive stockpiles
of chemical weapons and delivery systems, a substantial
investment in new gas masks and other expenditures on
protecting the home front is critical. He said he and
Defense Minister Peretz would see what could be done in the
Knesset to increase the defense budget. Sneh added that he
blamed former Finance Minister and opposition leader Bibi
Netanyahu, who cut the MOD's budget in the previous
government, arguing at the time that there was no longer a
strategic threat to Israel after Saddam Hussein's removal
from power.


2. (S) The Ambassador asked about a flurry of local media
reports the previous week that pressure is building on Chief
of General Staff Dan Halutz to resign due to extensive
criticism of the General Staff's performance contained in a
number of internal IDF after-action assessments. Sneh said
there was now a "healthy atmosphere" at the MOD and "no
reason for bad blood." In his view, Halutz was leading the
IDF's assessment process and was not guilty of negligence.
He concluded that the pressure on Halutz to resign was
diminishing.


3. (S) Sneh said the real lessons of the war were that
changes in Israeli society had spilled over into the IDF. In
a more materialistic society, there was less prestige for
military officers and the best people were no longer opting
for a military career. In addition, the IDF had made the
mistake of "trading good leadership for lousy management."
As a result, senior officers were reluctant to take
responsibility. The IDF's core values of courage and
fraternity of arms remained strong, however. Another problem
revealed in Lebanon was that commanders in the field were
afraid to take casualties, they "valued sparing life over
accomplishing the mission."


4. (S) Sneh blamed much of this on the mentality bred by the
use of the IDF for occupation duty, where operations were
more police than military actions. Commanders sent to
capture or kill a wanted Palestinian, for example, could
decide to wait until the next day since the man would still
be there and there was no urgent need to act immediately.
Occupation had affected the IDF commanders' determination to
wage war, and this -- combined with six years of slashing the
defense budget -- had eroded the IDF's combat skills. Sneh
summed up that lack of training, due to budget cuts, and the
occupation were the source of the IDF's problems.


5. (S) Sneh stressed that the MOD had an ambitious plan to
reequip, step up training, and invest again in R&D. By the
end of summer 2007, Sneh thought the IDF would regain its
traditional prowess. The army still enjoyed excellent human
resources and high levels of commitment. During the Lebanon
war, 110% of reserves had showed up for duty, since many
Israeli reservists living abroad or whose service commitments
had expired nonetheless had returned to serve. Sneh, who
though in his sixties had volunteered to serve with the
paratroopers last summer, cited the example of Yitzhak
Rabin's grandson, a high tech entrepreneur living in the
U.S., who returned to Israel to serve with Sneh in the
paratroopers. Defense Minister Peretz was focused on picking
the best field commanders, Sneh commented, noting that the
new commander of the northern region was "excellent."


6. (S) Pointing to a photo on his office wall of Israeli
F-15s overflying the site of the Auschwitz death camp, Sneh
said that if Israel did not retain its position as a regional
superpower, "we should all request green cards." The Middle
East, he observed, is a region in which weak minorities
either flee or are slaughtered. The Iraqi Kurds were still
strong because they were fighters, while Lebanon's once-proud
Christians were opening restaurants in the U.S. Israeli Jews
would not accept such a fate.

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