: Holy alliance of great civilisations : By Gen. Ashok K Mehta : The Pioneer : Following several decades of clandestine contact and co- : operation, India says it has found Israel, though the : Mizo Jews; part of the 10 lost Jewish tribes, are still : to do so. : Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is among the few Indian : dignitaries and its first Foreign Minister to visit : Israel. This tiny nation of 10 million people, smaller : than the population of Delhi, is the real churning pot on : earth and has serviced India's four wars viz.: 1962, : 1965, 1971 and 1999. : Taking a dig at the growing Indo-Israeli relations, : former Pakistan ISI chief General Hamid had recently : noted that Brahminical India and Jewish Israel have much : in common, including usury. : After a needless prevarication, India established : diplomatic relations in 1992 and has not looked back : since. India and Israel have a shared history, both : attained independence around the same tine 1947/48, both : have fought several wars and skirmishes with neighbours : but with a difference: Except in 1973 Israel won decisive : victories. Except 1971 (and 1999) India at best achieved : a stalemate with Pakistan and suffered humiliating defeat : in the Himalayas. : Hence the questions, how Israel, a small desert country : surrounded by big countries has always been able to scare : them away. And how India a big country surrounded by : small countries is scared of them. Israel's destiny is : guided by the doctrine of survival and the use of : military force as a policy option even for moving the : peace process. Taking the war to the adversary is the : goal of its politico-military strategy. Its nuclear : ambiguity augments- conventional deterrence. Israelis do : not turn any cheek. : But Israel is not anymore the fighting wonder it used to : be after the six day highlighting war of 1967. : It has taken cuts and reductions; in freedom of action, : use of force, its usefulness for its mentor USA, and even : in deterring adversaries. Suffering from conflict : fatigue, Israeli defence forces (IDF) can no longer win a : decisive victory. Doubts on IDF capability are being cast : by the Israelis themselves. Body bags is the sore issue. : Pressure from the 'Mothers Front' was one of the reasons : for the hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon. : Geography has dictated Israeli history. It has limited : strategic depth. Its chicken's neck is less than the : distance between Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. In the heartland, : a triangle formed by Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv, is : concentrated 70 per cent of the population and 80 per : cent of the country s resources. This is 80 km from the : hostile eastern front. This acute sense of insecurity and : vulnerability has led to the creation of buffer zones, : seeking strategic partners outside the neighbourhood and : deployment of united Nations or multilateral forces and : observers along all its borders with Lebanon, Syria, : Jordan and Egypt. No country is ringed by an : international security system as Israel. Yet, Tel Aviv is : the target of random human bomber attacks such as in Sri : Lanka. In Feb 1997 alone their were four such attacks, : killing 57 persons and wounding hundreds. Israel s newest : and most striking strategic ally is the secular Muslim : country Turkey. : Slowly but surely, Israel is coming to peace with itself : and its neighbours. It has resolved territorial disputes : with Egypt in 1977 and Jordan in 1994. The most : intractable, however is the interlinked Syria- Lebanon : border dispute. The Golan heights and Mount Hermon in : Syria are like Tolaling and Tiger Hill. They dominate : northern Israel and the Jordan river (and mount Hermon is : its source) which is Israel s source of drinking water. : As part of the peace process, the IDF has withdrawn only : last month from southern Lebanon. Under US aegis, Israel : is simultaneously engaging Syria and the Palestinian : authority in peace talks. It has vacated and dismantled : part of Israelis settlements on the West Bank. : India has kept out of the Middle East peace process. It : has played a neutral role balancing its relations with : Israel and Palestine, as well as with Israel s : neighbours. Just before diplomatic relations were : established, General Chaim Erez, chairman of Israel s : biggest public sector undertaking, the Israel Chemical : Industry, had led a trade delegation on a reconnaissance : mission to India. : Before then and now, nearly 50 visits have been : exchanged, mostly to Israel. Chief Ministers, Central : Ministers, Service Chiefs and business houses have : flocked to Israel to find out what makes it tick. It is : not good business sense alone. : Militancy and terrorism are threats facing both : countries. Israel has promised India the technology and : assistance to fight terrorism. Detailed briefings were : given to Home Minister LK Advani and his team. Israelis : are world leaders in high-tech Early Warning, : Surveillance, Electronic Warfare, Small Arms and Counter : Terrorism devices. They also excel in conventional weapon : systems being the world s sole blenders of Eastern and : Western equipment. : India has much to acquire from Israel in order to revive : defence projects grounded on account of sanctions and : non-performance of the DRDO. Israelis enjoy US dual-use : technology and manage to get away with selective : transfers. : Indians must remember that besides the reputation of a : military marvel, Israelis are geniuses in cultivable : agriculture. Proudly they tell guests, how green is my : desert! : While Israel may be losing its image of invincibility, it : is gaining friends. India needs more than military : technology from Israel to mend its fences on the LoC in : Jammu & Kashmir and along its borders. It requires : political will and guts. : Israel s unending experience with war and violence has : transformed it s fighting generals into seasoned : diplomatic and political leaders. : The author of `Defending India', Singh is Indian first : senior leader with military orientation. He is trying to : redefine the governments' agenda of strategic : partnership. To assure India's western flank, Israel : makes a natural ally. : Sunday, July 16, 2000 : Click on The Pioneer link at News Plus : http://www.mantra.com/newsplus : Om Shanti : Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational : purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post : may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the : opinion of the poster. 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