Has IDF Intelligence schooled a lessons from a Syrian reactor strike?

Up until now, a “secret certainty affair,” aka a Israeli conflict on a Syrian arch reactor, has usually been reported in unfamiliar media due to censorship regulations. Now that it has been authorized for announcement in Israeli media, too, we am vehement to remember that duration 10 years ago when we served as conduct of a IDF Technological Intelligence Department in a Research Division and after as emissary conduct of a whole division. In essence, we was a heading IDF comprehension officer during a time of a attack.

I have many and sundry memories from that time. My dialect was a initial to expose a existence of a arch reactor, only a few months before a conflict took place. We immediately alerted a higher officers and afterwards continued to be concerned in a swell of a affair. We participated in dozens of deliberations in that a conditions was assessed and afterwards reassessed and sum about a illusive conflict were discussed. We carried out countless simulations and articulated what a illusive reactions from a Syrians and generally Bashar Assad could be.

Ironically enough, a tangible conflict took place a same dusk as a marriage of dual of my colleagues, Liron, who was a IDF arch of staff’s secretary, and Oron. For many days and nights following a attack, we continued to closely observe all activity in Syria so that Israel would be prepared in box Damascus motionless to retaliate.

I’m certain that countless commentaries and personal accounts will now be created about that fatal night – in fact, we trust there are adequate to fill dozens of books and movies. But though going into too most detail, deliberating argumentative issues or who deserves credit for opposite aspects of a campaign, there are a series of issues that contingency initial be examined so that a IDF Military Intelligence Directorate can be certain to learn a required lessons.

The courage/ability to demonstrate a incompatible opinion

The researchers in a IDF Technological Intelligence Department that we ordered from a finish of 2005 suspected that there was tip arch activity holding place in Syria, though we could not infer this unequivocally. Throughout 2006, my organisation and we fought opposite several officials in IDF comprehension and a Mossad in an bid to remonstrate them to allot resources and manpower to examine this threat. Despite a fact that we was met with good resistance, we was not deterred and continued to run for additional appropriation and to benefaction a commentary during any illusive forum in Israel as good as overseas, even if we knew there was small possibility we’d be listened to.

Colonel A. on a 2007 IAF bombing of a Syrian arch reactor site. (Marc Israel Sellem/IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The significance of comprehension investigate as a primary pivot of comprehension gathering

This event creates it unquestionably transparent that comprehension gathering, and generally a investigate department, is a buttress of Military Intelligence. If it weren’t for a IDF Technological Intelligence Department, a State of Israel would have woken adult one morning to a stipulation by Bashar Assad that an active arch reactor exists in Syria! The fact that a series of investigate staffers has been cut, a unit’s standing lowered, and a change on information collection reduced, has spoiled a ability of Military Intelligence units to keep Israel safe.

Everyone can envision a destiny and disagree about a past

Unfortunately, it is formidable to find people currently who will acknowledge that they deserted out of palm a countless assertions we done proof that a arch reactor existed in Syria. (These objections continued from a finish of 2005 until a commencement of 2007.) This continued, notwithstanding a fact that there were many people who deserted these facts.

But since we are not deliberating a emanate from a indicate of perspective of those who against carrying out a attack, we are not training from a mistakes.

Delegation to and trust of commanders

Due to a fact that my organisation and we were a ones who detected a existence of a reactor, as good as a ones who carried out a corroboration of a information, my commanders allocated me to be a comprehension commander of a operation. Because Research Division conduct Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin – who was conduct of Military Intelligence – and Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi had finish certainty in me, we was means to privately brief primary apportion Ehud Olmert and his organisation on a weekly basement per a standing of a project. we sensitive them about a operational plan, choice plans, and all a illusive forms of plea we competence expect. we was never asked to routine any element by a Military Censor, or to yield them with a preview before coming a primary minister.

The tie between glorious investigate capabilities and operational understanding

Needless to say, a Arab Spring would have developed utterly differently had Syria’s troops had arch capabilities. My extended operational comprehension credentials authorised me, on a one hand, to pull for a avowal of a tip arch activity in Syria and to benefaction it to a applicable troops and certainty echelons. On a other hand, we was also means of producing operational comprehension that non-stop adult a accumulation of options for Israel. This vicious juncture of investigate comprehension and operational bargain is apropos some-more and some-more rare.

The ability and requirement to take responsibility

It is critical to take shortcoming on a daily basement when entertainment intelligence.

Our maestro and personal standing is put to a exam during singular times, such as during a Syrian arch reactor affair.

On tip of this, we was faced with endless antithesis from Syria specialists and other comparison IDF comprehension and Mossad officials. It was transparent to me that my maestro status, as good as that of my team, was during risk if we were to destroy due to under- or overestimating a earnest of Syrian arch capability. If it incited out that a explain that Syria was building a arch reactor was false, this would have been catastrophic for a certainty of a State of Israel, and have been intensely deleterious for a repute of a Technological Intelligence Department, as good as for me personally. Despite these pressures, we did not demur to send a information we had during hand. After it became transparent that a comment had been correct, a suitable bodies were means to start a routine of scheming operational plans.

Investigations and conclusions

After a conflict was completed, we led a Military Intelligence review and was allocated by a arch of staff to join a organisation that prepared overviews of IDF processes. This organisation carried out an endless review whose commentary were presented to a arch of staff and a conduct of Military Intelligence. A series of a lessons we schooled during that time are still applicable today, though we am puzzled that many stream comparison Military Intelligence officials are informed with them.

The significance of people

As conduct of a Technological Intelligence Department during that period, we was absolved to authority a organisation of maestro operatives who had a far-reaching operation of believe in engineering and science, as good as singular investigate and comprehension capabilities. They used modernized methodologies to accumulate intelligence, and were not disheartened by a many objections they encountered along a way. we feel low thankfulness to any and any one of them.

On a personal note – a shortcoming an comprehension officer has over a 30-year career is tremendous. The daily doubt that arises from a astonishing actions of a rivalry is a pursuit that requires being accessible 24/7 and is really challenging.

There are, however, situations in that we feel that all your tough work had been value it, and that a hurdles you’d faced unexpected seem to shrink. we valued a event to work with high-quality officers and soldiers and assistance them rise professionally. we also feel that we were successful in preventing attacks that would have brought about a detriment of many lives, and preventing a escalation of tensions that could have led to war.

Few officers have a possibility to attend in such fatal events like a conflict on a Syrian arch reactor. we feel absolved and beholden to my commanders and a Technological Intelligence operators who served underneath me during that time.

To conclude, this is also a initial event I’ve had to hold to my wife, Galit, and to my daughters because we was absent so most during those few months of 2007, because my participation was indispensable abroad and because we perceived a minute of admiration from primary apportion Ehud Olmert.

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Eli Ben Meir is a maestro Israeli comprehension officer who served as conduct of Military Intelligence’s Research Division.

Translated by Hannah Hochner.