People of the Year: Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi: Rehabilitating the IDF

His commanders got used to his surprise visits, probing questions, demand for comprehensive answers.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Ashkenazi 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Ashkenazi 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
In the almost two years since he became chief of General Staff, the public has yet to really get to know Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. Unlike his predecessor Dan Halutz, Ashkenazi keeps his distance from the media and even after 19 months on the job has yet to give a single interview. In other times and under a different chief of General Staff, the media would not be so forgiving. But that is exactly the point - Ashkenazi is not just another chief of General Staff, and two years after the failures of the Second Lebanon War and the IDF's poor showing against Hizbullah, this is not just any other time. At the end of the day, however, the media are one of the last things Ashkenazi needs to worry about. With Iran racing toward nuclear power, Hizbullah amassing weapons and on its way to taking over Lebanon and the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip barely holding together, Ashkenazi has plenty of challenges for the upcoming year. Brought out of retirement to replace Halutz following the war, the Golani Brigade-bred Ashkenazi was pegged as the only officer around who could properly rehabilitate the IDF and return it to its former glory. To do so, however, he embarked on a mission characterized by an obsession to know everything that is happening in the IDF, all the way down to the last soldier, raising some ire that he is ignoring long-term strategic planning. When Ashkenazi took over, commanders quickly got used to his surprise visits, his probing questions and constant demand for comprehensive and knowledgeable answers. Shortly after that, Ashkenazi began wanting more and decided that no unit could stop in the middle of a training exercise without his personal permission. Any military accident needed to be reported to him personally within 24 hours. Ashkenazi has spent the past year revising and overseeing the IDF's new intensive training regime and ensuring that, despite unexpected budget cuts, the various branches are able to continuously grow in number of troops and advanced weaponry. Ashkenazi has instilled a new fortitude throughout the ranks while emphasizing a return to basics and the need to engage the enemy, going even as far as demoting battalion commanders who failed to meet the new standard. While his public image is of a gruff infantry soldier, Ashkenazi is an intelligent tactician and strategist. It was his decision, for example, to clamp a complete media blackout on last September's air strike against what turned out to be a Syrian nuclear reactor. His decision, defense officials admit today, spared the country an unnecessary war. Defense Minister Ehud Barak likes to say that the IDF is the strongest military in the Middle East and therefore countries should think twice before attacking. But if they think twice and still attack, Ashkenazi will face his ultimate test, and we will see whether the new spirit he has brought into the IDF has made a difference. Ashkenazi's Challenges
  • Iran - According to latest intelligence assessments, Iran will master enrichment technology in the coming year. Not everyone is of the opinion that the IDF is capable of attacking Iran, and Ashkenazi has said that Israel needs to retain a military option. If all else fails, it will be up to him to come to the political echelon and convince it that the IDF has the capability.
  • Gaza - Predictions in the defense establishment are that the cease-fire with Hamas will fall apart over the coming months. The IDF has drawn up a variety of plans, from reoccupying the entire Strip to creating buffer zones in the north and south. Ashkenazi is a known opponent of a widespread operation in Gaza but may have to reconsider if rocket barrages begin pounding all the way north to Ashdod.
  • Growth - Ashkenazi will need to balance between budget cuts and the need for new and advanced platforms (ships, aircraft, missiles, etc.) so the IDF can continue to retain its status as the most technologically advanced military in the Middle East.
  • Draft - In 2008, the IDF reported that 25 percent of youth supposed to be drafted were dodging service. The IDF is working hard to improve its image and to curb the phenomenon before it impacts its manpower needs.