PNN – Foreign Policy magazine has analyzed why Israel’s strategy after October 7 has failed.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Mark Lynch, a senior analyst at Foreign Policy, wrote in a note that Israelis’ frustration with the endless war goes beyond Netanyahu and represents the failure of the cabinet’s ambitious strategy to transform the region through military intervention after October 7, 2023. Some of the main points of the report are as follows:
- The Shift in Security Doctrine after October 7
Before October 7, Israel’s strategy was based on “weeding,” short, intense, occasional military campaigns that weakened the capabilities of enemies like Hamas and Hezbollah without seeking to eradicate them. But the October 7 attack shattered this plan. Israel’s new doctrine was supposed to end the threats, not just manage them: the complete destruction of Hamas, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and regime change in Iran. But today, this vision lies in ruins.
- No Decisive Victory on Any Front
Israel has steadily expanded its goals to include the complete destruction of Hamas, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and regime change in Iran. But no decisive victory has been achieved on any of these fronts. A full-scale air war against Iran, with American participation, has failed to topple the Islamic Republic.
- Return to “weeding” at much higher costs
Israel is now forced to return to a conflict management strategy, but with infinitely higher levels of death and destruction. The horrors of the Gaza war have turned public opinion in Europe and America against Israel and convinced many Arabs to see Israel as a threat, not a security partner.
- The show of force made Israel look threatening
Israel assumed that the show of force would make it a more attractive ally to the Gulf States, without recognizing how this power made it look threatening. The attacks on Iran and Lebanon have raised fears of chaos and state collapse in Riyadh and across the region.
- Conclusion
Lynch concludes that Israel’s strategy after October 7 has failed. For all the damage it has inflicted on its enemies, Israel has failed to eliminate any of them. Netanyahu’s critics within Israel are right when they say that he has dragged the country into endless, pointless wars, offering no alternative to regional quagmire and international isolation.