Fleeing Afghanistan & Fighting Wars: What Can We Learn from Israel’s Mistakes and its Successes?
Intro: As US forces make a hasty, humiliating retreat from Afghanistan after twenty years and tens of thousands of American deaths, one has to wonder, “Might we be going about this the wrong way?” Is there perhaps a better way to fight a war?
Here to discuss this is David Rubin, the former Mayor of Shiloh in Israel, a country that seems almost always to be at war. Rubin is the author of the new book, “Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn from Israel.”
Suggested Q&A:
- The flight from Afghanistan is very embarrassing, but was there really a better way to do it? Of course, there was. The victor always determines the terms of his disengagement and perhaps, if he so chooses, his withdrawal. Otherwise, it just appears to be a humiliating defeat. Biden had announced that the Afghan forces were strong enough to ensure stability and, at the very least, an honorable American withdrawal. Obviously, that wasn’t the reality.
- Your country, Israel, seems to be in a perpetual state of war. What can we learn from Israel’s vast experience with wars? From our experience, you can learn how to fight and how not to fight. Let’s start with one of our biggest mistakes. When Ehud Barak was prime minister back in the year 2000, he ordered the withdrawal of our troops from Lebanon in a similar big rush, leaving behind scores of weapons, which were quickly taken by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization. Hezbollah was emboldened by this, as was Iran, and to this day, they essentially control Lebanon, with over 200,000 missiles pointed at Israeli cities.
- And therefore, the lesson from that big mistake is…? If you go in to defeat an enemy, go in with full force, win the war convincingly and then either hand off the territory to a strong, reliable surrogate, or, if its in your interest, take permanent control and let the enemy be the one to run away!
- Has Israel ever followed that advice? Yes, in the Six Day War, in June of 1967, we were threatened on all of our borders by Arab troops that outnumbered us substantially, both in soldiers and in weapons. With the knowledge that the best defense is a good offense, we launched massive preemptive action on all fronts and in the process reconquered the strategic Golan Heights on the Syrian border, as well as our biblical heartland of Judea, Samaria, and the Old City of Jerusalem, where King David and King Solomon once reigned over the ancient Kingdom of Israel. But the key message here is that if you have to fight a war, fight to win and do it quickly and convincingly. And never abandon the element of surprise.
- Your book, “Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn from Israel” has a lot of these great lessons from the successes and mistakes of Israel. Where can our viewers/listeners get a copy? They can go to DavidRubinIsrael.com, or just go to Amazon.com and type in the words, “Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn from Israel.”
BIO: David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the new book, Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn from Israel. Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack.
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