Defense and Diplomacy In Israel's National Security Experience

This work defines the central concepts of Israel's national security doctrine as deterrence, geography, manpower, quantity versus quality, offensive manoeuvre warfare, conventional versus unconventional threats, self-reliance, great power patronage, and peripheral partnerships. The author describes and explains how these concepts have influenced the war fighting experience of the Israel Defense Forces, including the air force and the navy. Special attention is paid to Israel's relationships with the United States, Turkey, and India as they relate to the Jewish state's national security, and in particular offers a new interpretation of what really drives these relationships; the motives behind Israeli foreign policy and Israeli arms export policy; and whether Israel's national security doctrine ought to include a capability to threaten the existence of hostile Arab (and Islamic) governments. Sections of this book have been used to teach a class on strategic studies at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.