Dilemmas of Security: Politics, Strategy, and the Israeli Experience in Lebanon"The war in Lebanon has been a moment of truth for the Israeli nation", Avner Yaniv writes. "It has led to tormenting soul searching, deep doubts, and for many Israelis even guilt." In Delemmas of Security, Yaniv provides the most comprehensive study to date of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its painful aftermath. It looks at what factors were involved in Israeli decision-making, shows who the actors were, and demonstrates how a hard "realpolitik" mentality shaped Israeli thinking. Drawing on extensive research and his own first-hand knowledge of how the Israeli government and military operate, Yaniv confronts the difficult questions that the Lebanese conflict and occupation have thrown into sharp relief. Why has Israel so often resorted to force to solve its problems? Is Israel still locked into the blunt mindset of its founding generation? Or is it merely reacting to a relentless, organized Arab drive to erase it from the map of the Middle East? Is Israeli behavior still largely shaped by a small group of decision-makers who are themselves conditioned by the memory of past Jewish traumas? Or is it more accurate to ascribe Israeli conduct to the response of decision-makers to a turbulent domestic environment? Or, finally, are not Israeli leaders reacting to a fundamental strategic dilemma that has haunted the state since its inception? Yaniv's search for answers is both broad and penetrating. After examining the fundamental sources of Israeli conduct, he moves into a detailed account of the Israeli encounter with Lebanon, tracing its origins and development from World War I to 1981. Then, in a detailed investigation of the war, he focuses on the agonizing interaction of strategic considerations with the complexities of the Israeli political system, showing how the turbulence of domestic politics affected critical decisions in a tragic way. He closes with a detailed analysis of the Israeli decision to withdraw from Lebanon. Issues running throughout the book include Israeli-Syrian relations, U.S.-Israeli relations, and the role of the PLO. Also discussed is the rise of the Shiite militants in south Lebanon. |
From inside the book
Try this search over all volumes: Berl
Results 1-0 of 0
Contents
The Sources of Israeli Conduct | 3 |
Escalation | 27 |
The Making of the Crisis | 36 |
Copyright | |
14 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
17 accord agreement Amal American Amin Gemayel Arab-Israeli Arafat Arens Assad attack Aviv Awali Barouq Bashir Begin Beirut cabinet casualties Chief of Staff Christian colleagues conflict critical Dayan decision domestic Druzes Egypt Eitan fact Foreign Galilee Gurion Ha'Aretz Haddad Ibid IDF's interview invasion Israel Israel's Lebanon Israeli Israeli government Itzhak Itzhak Rabin Jerusalem Post Jewish Jordan July June Knesset Labor party leaders leadership Lebanese Army Lebanese Forces Lebanese Front Likud Litani logic Ma'ariv Maronite Middle East military militia minister of defense Moshe negotiations operation Operation Litani Palestine Palestinian peace Peres Phalange point of view political population position Press pressure Prime Minister problem Rabin Rafael Eitan Reagan redeployment response result Schiff and Yaari security dilemma Shamir Sharon Shi'ites Shouf Sidon siege soldiers south Lebanon strategic Syrian terrorists UNIFIL unilateral United Washington Weizman West Bank Yaniv Yasser Arafat York Zionist