Back to Basics: A Study of the Second Lebanon War and Operation CAST LEAD
- ISBN-10
- 1453689613
- ISBN-13
- 9781453689615
- Series
- Back to Basics
- Pages
- 154
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2009-06-08
- Author
- Scott C. Farquhar
Description
This study examines the combat actions in two operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The common denominator in these fights is the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Consequently the writing team focused on the impact that transformation had on this military organization before and after the Second Lebanon War of 2006 and in preparation for Operation CAST LEAD in the winter of 2008-09. The methodology and composition of the IDF's enemies, Hezbollah and Hamas, are studied as well. In Lebanon, the IDF pitted ill-trained soldiers and ill-educated officers, who attempted to carry out vague orders and unfamiliar tasks, against a small group of men with good weapons and a simple mission. This was the first open conflict in Israel's "cold war" with Iran and its proxy force of Hezbollah in what became known as the Second Lebanon War. The IDF Operation CAST LEAD against Hamas in 2008-09 was a small-scale affair in comparison to the multi-division attack into Lebanon in 2006. The former operation, however, restored confidence in both the government and armed forces in the eyes of the Israeli populace. The reforms of the year and a half between conflicts paid great dividends to Israeli soldiers and air-crews. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press, U.S. Army)
