There is no need for conspiracy theories: Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon was appointed to the post of GOC Central Command simply because he is the most qualified. The defense minister and the IDF chief of general staff felt that at this time, in the face of Palestinian terror and Jewish anarchy, Alon was better suited than the other two candidates: Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman and Brig.-Gen. Noam Tibon. They discussed the candidates on several occasions and decided on Alon, who will not be the first Judea and Samaria division commander to be appointed GOC Central Command Yitzhak Eitan and Moshe (Bogey) Ya'alon preceded him. The timing of the announcement, however, was not as pure as the appointment itself. The violent incidents of the past week, which peaked with a stinging slap dealt to the Ephraim Brigade [when extreme rightists broke into an army base, vandalized property and assaulted soldiers], came to a head with this appointment. Announcing it now, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak is in Washington, aims to demonstrate that it is Israel's government that is in control over Judea and Samaria, and not the extremists. I wonder how long it will take before right-wing protesters return to Alon's house, and resume calling him a "Nazi" and yelling "leftist" at his wife [a leading left-wing activist]. This kind of treatment, may I remind you, is directed at the very person tasked with ensuring their security. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! The buzz surrounding Alon's appointment has essentially drowned out talk about a much more significant event: the establishment of a new military command tasked with "depth" missions a code name for any part of the world that does not share a border with Israel. The idea of this unit has been bounced around the IDF for some time under various names (depth command, strategic command) and recently, Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot completed the steps necessary to bring the idea to fruition. The rationale behind this unit, in short, is that the longer range requires extensive cooperation between different parts of the defense establishment. In order to effectively combat Iran's nuclear ambitions, arms smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah and worldwide terror organizations, certain units must work together (Military Intelligence, the Israel Security Agency, Mossad, and others), certain military branches need to join forces (especially the air force and the navy) and the different commanders and their subordinates also need to coordinate. The unit, modeled after the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (SOCOM), aims to present a wider view that is separate from the day-to-day needs of each individual unit. The appointment of Maj.-Gen. (res.) Shai Avital, who was brought back from retirement to head the unit (likely to be nicknamed "Iran Command"), was meant to ensure cooperation between the different bodies. The thing that stood out among the announcement of these, and additional, appointments, was one appointment that has not yet been decided the next air force commander. An all-out battle is being waged over the two leading candidates: Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel and Maj.-Gen. Yohanan Locker. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz prefers the former, while Barak prefers the latter. This battle is not only over prestige and honor and Iran, but one other important issue: who ultimately decides the identity of top military personnel, the chief of staff or the defense minister. The air force decision, expected soon, will determine just how independent the chief of staff really is, one year into his term.
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