Kochavi's remarks were addressed to the Israeli public, the White House, and the terrorist armies of Hamas and Hezbollah. • The main message: The IDF is preparing for action - even alone • Interpretation
Chief of Staff Kochavi
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To make the most of the opportunity, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi's speech this week was a thought-provoking craft of conveying strategic messages.
In view of the emerging trends of change in the regional and global arenas - in which of course the processes of change involve a change of administration in Washington - the Chief of Staff addressed a wide range of recipients. The messages must be interpreted in the specific circumstantial context in which they were addressed, according to each recipient. The list of recipients begins with the Israeli public, passes through the leadership of the enemies in all the threatening arenas and ends in the international arena, with a focus on the White House.
Chief of Staff Kochavi: I instructed the IDF to prepare new operational plans for the treatment of Iran // Photo: Institute for National Security Studies
It was not a speech for a personal publicity purpose, but a vital component in the fabric of strategic action. The area indicates that the recipients have realized that these are messages that should not be ignored.
Compared to chief of staff speeches that have become legacy speeches, such as Moshe Dayan's obituary on Roi Rotberg's grave, Kochavi Moked's speech in a professional review, in a systematic transition from arena to arena. Despite the detail allocated to the various arenas, most responses The Chief of Staff for returning to the outline of President Obama's nuclear deal, accompanied by the demand to build and prepare the IDF for relevant offensive capability, was received with anxiety especially among former senior members of the defense establishment, who supported President Trump's nuclear deal. The message that since the previous nuclear deal was signed, there have been significant changes.
Looking at the new appointments in the Biden administration - some of which were deeply integrated into the Obama administration's handling of Middle East issues - the message the chief of staff not only invites them to learn and internalize the change trends since then, but also warns of what seems to be a continuation of January 2017. Even if nothing has happened so far, even if the US administration faces new negotiations with Tehran, the IDF's serious readiness for military action will play a useful role.
An equally significant issue in the chief of staff's remarks was the clarification to the terrorist armies of Hezbollah and Hamas that their choice to operate out of the cities and villages among the civilian population would not bind the IDF's hands from a decisive blow to them.
There are four direct recipients of this warning: first and foremost, the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
The second recipient is the international community.
The third recipient is the civilian population in Gaza and Lebanon, who inevitably reside in an environment that has become legitimate military targets for attack.
And the fourth recipient: the Israeli company, to which the chief of staff addressed a statement of commitment to act effectively to protect it from enemy fire.
The multiplicity of messages and recipients makes the speech a constitutive military document worthy of in-depth study.