By www.roytov.com
Letter of Intentions
In 1988, Israel conducted what until then was its largest military exercise. “Ba’al HaHalomot” (Dreams’ Owner) was the first and only attempt of the IDF to see if its Vertical Bypass Division could deliver its promise to open a second front for the IDF.* A very young officer in the unit’s headquarters, I was impressed for an unforgettable event: an M-113 troops carrier stuck on the boarding ramp of an Hercules airplane.
In the subsequent mayhem, I was troubled by a different issue: when would the exercise be implemented?
British Vehicle in Battle of Megiddo, 1918 A Blitzkrieg from before the term was adopted The Roots of Blitzkrieg
Many years afterwards, I have solid reasons to think that this plan would never be implemented; neither in Iraq nor in the only other possible landing spot. Military exercises not always become operative. However, they always broadcast a letter of intentions.
Shhhh! It’s top secret!
IDF Exercise June 2013 Inside the Nazi War Machine: How Three Generals Unleashed Hitler’s Blitzkrieg Upon the WorldBeing an open letter delivered without a stamp, most of the exercises are not classified. Sometimes they are even published in excruciating detail by the state-sponsored media. This is the case of the video released on June 20, 2013, by Yediot Ahronot, minutes after the end of a large IDF exercise. Netanyahu sent a letter without a stamp.The Letter’s Message
The newspaper was kind enough to inform the composition of the force. An unidentified division from the Central Command** participated with a reserve battalion. The air force and the navy participated with their regular forces. This is enough to classify the event as a multi-branch event (ground-air-sea) carried out in a “skeleton-drill,” i.e. the exercise was not intended to train the few participating soldiers, but the commanders and control facilities.
The event lasted four days and took place in the Galilee, in territory controlled by the IDF North Command. This is an important clue to what was being checked. The ground forces—which eventually are supposed to stick a flag atop the enemy’s headquarter—had been taken out of their area. In other words, the IDF exercised a multi-branch attack deep in enemy’s territory. This definition and the composition of the force define it as a blitzkrieg plan.+
Merkava Tank in the Golan Heights During the winter, the Golan becomes a tanks-trap
“Bibi, to whom should I deliver the letter?” asked the postman
A continuous source of delight for me is the easiness that state agents are identified. Beyond the unavoidable Delay Effect
There is no doubt that the event was closely watched by the main armies active in the area, including Syria. Its message was also pretty obvious. Yet, fastidious to the end, the IDF made sure that the message will pass. Fastidious to the end, it did so in a foolishly indirect fashion.
Yediot Ahronot reports that “partly, the goals of the exercise are not related to deep-strikes into Syria or the strained situation in the Golan Heights.” Let me rephrase in the positive fashion favored by English speakers: “Partly, the event is related to a deep-strike in Syria.”
“I still don’t understand” said the Syrian soldier watching the approaching troops
Fastidious to the end, Israeli Minister of Defense Ya’alon delivered yesterday a speech in Ba’ad 1, the IDF Officers’ School, during a graduation ceremony. He said: “…these days, the IDF faces, from inside and outside Israel, several fronts of uncertainty. We have such a front along the Lebanese border…We have such a front with Syria…a war that is approaching our borders…”
“Ok, OK,” said Assad, “Got the message.”
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* Israel occupies a strategic spot. Two important oil pipelines cross its territory. Between 1935 and 1948, the Mosul–Haifa oil pipeline transported crude oil from the oil fields of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, through Jordan to Haifa. Nowadays they function with crude oil brought with ships. The point marked H2 in the map is considered strategic by the IDF since it is the largest plain along the pipeline’s path. As mentioned in The Cross of Bethlehem
Mosul–Haifa oil pipeline* Don’t confuse the Central Command, responsible for the West Bank and central Israel and located in Jerusalem, with the IDF General Command in Tel Aviv.
+ Blitzkrieg is a term that was popularized by the media following the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland in 1939. it was coined in 1935 by the German Army, but similar attacks happened before, like the British attack in 1918, during the Battle of Megiddo.
Roi Tov is a graduate—among others—of Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science. In addition to his memoir, Tov is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Molecular Physics and other scientific journals. He won various travel writing and photography awards.
In his writings, he tries to reveal life in Israel as a Christian Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer—from human rights violations to the use of an extensive network of underground agents. He was recognized first as a refugee and subsequently as political prisoner of Bolivia.
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