ABSTRACT
Ultimate responsibility for Israel's national security rests with "the political echelon." Since 1946 a unique, sophisticated, and advanced Israeli type of political echelon has emerged, which seems to have no counterpart in other democratic countries. After Ben-Gurion's second resignation the political echelon was expanded by several hundred percent; added to it were a few select ministers, whose decisions usually reflected the preferences of the defense minister and the chief of staff. The absolute personalization and extremely limited mobility of the political echelon have inevitably led to its increasing isolation from the internal and external environment. The weakening of the political echelon was manifested in its hesitancy, lack of authority, and indecisiveness. Ben-Gurion's second resignation as prime minister in 1963 revived the dormant struggle between his political successors and the military echelon. After 1967 the leaders of the security establishment fell victim to the classic syndrome of cognitive dissonance.
