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Israel Needs a High-Tech Army

by Gad Nahshon

"Israel must establish a National Security Academy," suggested Dr. Uri Milstein, Israel's distinguished military historian, in his recent open letter to the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon.

Dr. Milstein knows Sharon, personally, for many years. In his recent letter, Dr. Milstein outlined his unique analytical approach to the issue of Israel's security and defense. He believes in the need to change Israel's concept of security. He is looking for the tools by which the Israeli army will be linked to the intellectual world. Dr. Milstein developed a new concept of Israel - ways of survival. He noted that the military leadership cannot function as it should. He believes that one essential tool by which the military establishment in Israel would be and should be revolutionized is the establishment of National Security Academy (N.S.A.) It will be, according to Dr. Milstein, a brilliant original thinker and a controversial historian, the only way by which the Israeli Army (I.D.F.) or 'Tsahal' will be and should be an intellectual army.

Dr. Milstein, in his April letter to Sharon, argued that the army failed to perform his duties and demonstrated weakness and ineffectiveness. Therefore, the Palestinians and the Hizbullah scored too many victories. The weakness of Israel since 1973 caused more Arab violence and activity.

Dr. Milstein believes that the establishment of a National Security Academy will produce a new more qualified and more professional military elite or leadership. In the future, we need a small but qualified high-tech army. We need an elite of professionals and not the classical Israeli 'people army.' This Academy will give birth to this new security leadership.

In his open letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Milstein suggested the following:

1) The Prime Minister will nominate members of a special Task Force on National Security Academy;

2) The Academy will be better established by a law in the Knesset;

3) The Academy will be a direct responsibility and authority of the Prime Minister's office;

4) The Academy will be organized as a university: degrees in national security issues. The students will be able to study courses in all of the academic disciplines: economy, political science, for example, but the stress will be on the security-defense aspects. Of course, research will be promoted;

5) The establishment of this Academy means the dismantling of the military cadet schools (officers), inside I.D.F. Also, the dismantling of 'PUM', a school for the future high command of the I.D.F. (a must for the generals).

Dr. Milstein believes in the urgent need to improve the professional intellectual aspect of Israel's military-security establishment. It will push the army on the wave of the future. He believes that a military leader who studies 4-5 years in this National Security academy will be the best one in the field and a future guarantee of an Israeli military superiority in the Middle East. This Academy will be essentially the creation of a new infrastructure of the Israeli army and its security-defense mechanism.

Dr. Milstein has argued for many years that by intellectualizing the army, Israel will have an excellent sophisticated entity.