ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with military doctrine at the strategic and operational levels, and only with the offensive/defensive aspects of this doctrine. It focuses on the issues of transferring the war to enemy territory, preventive war, and preemptive strikes. The chapter considers the conventional military doctrine as the sole expression of Israel's security policy and grand strategy. It explores the original motivations that led to its adoption, and the factors that caused it, or at least made it possible for it to remain in effect for an extended period of time. The chapter argues that the choice of the Israeli doctrine was neither accidental nor arbitrary; nor did it derive from an unrestrained impulse to emulate a foreign army. The practical implications of the conclusions as seen by the Israeli leadership at the time were quite profound, and they have left their imprint on the IDF's force structure and doctrine.
