Ashkenazi offers to help war on terror

IDF chief at NATO conference: Achievements from 2nd Lebanon War could've been obtained quicker.

By YAAKOV KATZ
ashkenazi salutes 224.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
ashkenazi salutes 224.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi offered the IDF's assistance Tuesday to dozens of militaries engaged in the war on terror whose commanders participated in the annual NATO Chief of Staff conference in Brussels. Addressing an audience that included UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the NATO leadership and military chiefs from the United States, Europe, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan, Ashkenazi said that despite certain setbacks, Israel emerged strong from the Second Lebanon War and had succeeded in enhancing its deterrence. "The global challenges today require a global solution," Ashkenazi said. "My aspiration is to offer to share with you the lessons our military has learned from dealing with its security challenges, some of which you, too, face today." Ashkenazi said that the IDF has carefully studied the lessons of the 2006 war and that he was now convinced that the army could have achieved its goals more quickly. "Looking back, I am convinced that we made important achievements in the Second Lebanon War concerning the security of the State of Israel," Ashkenazi said. "At the same time, it is possible that these achievements, and possibly better ones, could have been obtained quicker and at a lower price." Ashkenazi thanked Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Turkey for contributing forces to the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon but said that Hizbullah was rebuilding its military infrastructure there and "calling a challenge" to the continued implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War. Ashkenazi also said Israel intended to send a naval intelligence officer in the near future to participate in Active Endeavor, a NATO mission based in Italy aimed at enhancing intelligence-sharing on sea-based terrorist threats. Ashkenazi held individual meetings with many of the military commanders and discussed regional issues such as the Iranian nuclear threat and the ongoing war on terrorism.