What Does All This Training Mean?
March 21, 2007
Israel is in the midst of its most ambitious civil defense training in its history. It represents an unprecedented coordination of police, fire departments, ambulance services and the I.D.F.
Just a few weeks ago, the I.D.F. staged one of its biggest military exercises on the Golan Heights. And the I.D.F. spokeswoman told CBN News this morning that the U.S. and Israel just successfully completed a joint military exercise in the Negev Desert called "Juniper Cobra."
But what does this all mean? Why is Israel pouring its resources into preparedness and training?
The short answer seems to be that Israel - like much of the rest of the region - is preparing for war and wants to be ready.
Israel learned a bitter lesson in last summer's war with Hezbollah. On the military front, many of its reserve units lacked the training they needed. Logistics broke down. Some soldiers did not have adequate food and water. On the civilian front, many people complained the national government failed to provide the leadership necessary to deal with the massive displacement of the population in northern Israel.
Nearly one million people were displaced, bomb shelters were not adequately stocked and many local communities were left to fend on their own. A grass roots, volunteer effort helped a lot but the government failures were glaring.
And since last summer, the threats surrounding Israel have grown dramatically:
. Some Israeli intelligence reports conclude that Hezbollah on Israel's northern border is now as strong or stronger than it was before last summer's war with Israel. Last summer, it fired nearly 4000 rockets into northern Israel and many of those rockets have been replaced, most of them from Syria.
. Other reports show Syria has moved some of their own rockets up to Israel's border on the Golan Heights. These same reports say that Syria is building a more robust military infrastructure near the border. These developments along with Syrian President's Bashar Assad's bellicose statements could add up to trouble brewing on a border that traditionally has been very quiet.
. On Israel's southern front, Hamas terrorists are being sent to Iran for military training. Hamas is also stockpiling land mines, anti-tank weapons, explosives, arms, munitions and building bunkers Hezbollah style to combat any Israeli incursion. Other Palestinian terror groups are continuing to fire Kassam rockets into southern Israel and terrorizing towns like Sderot.
. Even more menacing is the looming and growing threat of a nuclear Iran. It continues to develop its nuclear weapons and coupled with its threat to "wipe Israel off the map", it represents Israel's most serious threat.
After last summer's war with Hezbollah, there was a palpable sense that the war which ended after 34 days was just put on hold. as if the "pause" button was pushed. Many analysts believe a major war is on the horizon, maybe even by this summer.
Perhaps it goes without saying, that this is a critical time to be praying for the nation of Israel, the peace of Jerusalem and for all the people of this volatile part of the world.
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