‘Mowing the Grass’: Israel’sStrategy for Protracted Intractable Conflict
Key takeaways
Bibliography: Inbar, E., Shamir, E., 2014. ‘Mowing the Grass’: Israel’sStrategy for Protracted Intractable Conflict. Journal of Strategic Studies 37, 65–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2013.830972
Authors:: Efraim Inbar, Eitan Shamir
Collections:: Arab-Israeli Conflict
First-page:
Mowing the Grass’, Israel’s strategy in the twenty-first century against hostile non-state groups, reflects the assumption that Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict. The use of force in such a conflict is not intended to attain impossible political goals, but a strategy of attrition designed primarily to debilitate the enemy capabilities. Only after showing much restraint in its military responses does Israel act forcefully to destroy the capabilities of its foes, hoping that occasional large-scale operations also have a temporary deterrent effect in order to create periods of quiet along its borders. The Israeli approach is substantively different from the current Western strategic thinking on dealing with non-state military challenges.
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Reading notes
- ‘Mowing the Grass’, Israel’s strategy in the twenty-first century against hostile non-state groups, reflects the assumption that Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict. The use of force in such a conflict is not intended to attain impossible political goals, but a strategy of attrition designed primarily to debilitate the enemy capabilities.
- The critics of Israel’s use of force share a common Western cultural bias that aspires for solutions to end military conflict.
- Similarly difficult to accept is that there is no decisive military solution to meet the challenges posed by the radical non-state organizations. Consequently, the success of a military strategy should be measured against achieving the policy goals set by the political echelon, not by the analysts.
- Nevertheless, the empirical data clearly indicates that Israel’s use of force achieves temporary quiet, which this article argued is Israel’s main goal.
- Over time, Israel has improved its military performance. The IDF has also used more precise fire and has taken more precautions to prevent the loss of innocent lives. This suits the moral code of the IDF, but also enhances legitimacy at home and abroad.
- In any case, the immediate effect is some tranquillity, which is possibly due also to the fact that Hizballah and Hamas have assumed government responsibilities.
- ‘Mowing the Grass’ is a realistic strategy that could serve a model for other armies. Yet, if the non-state actors are to acquire statist characteristics and/or more powerful capabilities, ‘Mowing the Grass’ might become an outdated military strategy.