Lt. Col. Alon Paz, IDF, was a 2014 visiting military fellow at The Washington Institute.
In-Depth Reports
In this groundbreaking study, Col. Alon Paz, IDF, offers his recommendations for an overhaul of Israeli security strategy. Guiding his study is the notion that guile -- or cunning -- must supplant brute force as the nation's operating security principle.
Israel's security landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. In addition to the familiar threats posed by its Arab neighbors, the country is particularly challenged by nonstate actors, sometimes backed by antagonistic states. However, Israel's security doctrine has not changed with the times: it remains focused on a state-centered model of conflict that emphasizes strength over strategy. The consequences have included reduced effectiveness, as evidenced in several recent indecisive military outcomes, and eroding military superiority, as measured by the ability of nonstate groups to elude traditional IDF strengths. Such trends call for more than slight adjustments: indeed, a reevaluation and remaking of Israel's entire security doctrine is required. A central element of such an endeavor must be integration of military power with five other lines of effort: diplomacy, information, economy, law, and the home front.
In this groundbreaking Institute study, Col. Alon Paz, IDF, offers his recommendations for an overhaul of Israeli security strategy. Guiding his study is the notion that guile -- a military principle exemplified by the Old Testament heroes David and Gideon -- must supplant brute force as the nation's operating security principle.
THE AUTHOR
Col. Alon Paz, IDF, was a 2014 visiting military fellow at The Washington Institute. Enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces in 1995, he joined the IDF General Staff Planning Directorate in 1999 as a lieutenant and has since served as a strategist in the Strategic Planning Division, participating in dozens of efforts involving both the military and the country's political echelons. Colonel Paz was recognized as a distinguished graduate of the IDF Staff and Command Course, and holds master's degrees in security studies and political science (magna cum laude) from Tel Aviv University. Still an active-duty officer, he is head of the strategic planning department at the GHQ Planning Directorate.
