Israel Revamps Army to Cope with Soviet Methods Adopted by Egypt

Israel Army organization and tactical methods are being revamped to be able to cope with Soviet methods adopted by the United Arab Republic, Brigadier Yitzhak Rabin, Chief of Israel’s Operations, disclosed at Army headquarters here/today.

He made the disclosure in warning against the “misconception” that the potential danger to Israel’s security could be gauged by the degree of tranquility on Israel’s borders. “The development of military power in depth within the Arab countries constitutes a greater danger and has no relation to the border tranquility,” he stressed.

For this reason, he said, Israel army training programs for the current year have been designed to meet the new conditions resulting from the adoption of Soviet military doctrines by the UAR. He reported that the UAR has been sending thousands of its key military personnel to Soviet bloc countries for training while hundreds of Soviet technicians and advisers are now in the UAR in training capacities.

“Considerable efforts are being made to improve the quality of the United Arab Republic Army,” Brig. Rabin said. He revealed that Israel’s current training goals were to absorb and master new weapons in the light of knowledge of changes in Arab armies. “The goal of Israel’s defense forces is to maintain the status quo,” he said. “To achieve this goal, Israel’s Army is trained to serve as a deterrent force and, if deterrence fails, to be able to deal a crushing blow to an aggressor.”