The Time for Military Dialogue is Now

Israel should engage in in-depth military dialogue with official military and diplomatic interlocutors from friendly countries who are critical of the upcoming two-front war in Gaza and Lebanon/Syria. Those who have criticisms should offer their own alternative plans that will ensure Israel’s security in the face of the projectile threat. Israel should issue invitations for dialogue through the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the TEVEL (Political Action and Liaison Department) of the Mossad. This will be far more effective than trying to defend the war in real time to diplomatic interlocutors. Israel should present outlines of its military plans to its diplomatic and military colleagues abroad and crucially ask for input. Israel will need to explain to its foreign colleagues that heavy collateral damage is an intrinsic aspect of modern warfare in the Middle East as everywhere else. They will surely understand. However, explaining this in real time is much more difficult with images of dead children on social media, in newspapers and on television.