He thought only of Israel's best interest

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan died as he had lived, in the shadows and often in silence.

Everyone knew about his serious illness, but no one heard him complaining, not even when he was hospitalized several years ago in the rehabilitative wing at Sheba Medical Center. He was exemplary when it came to handling pain.

I met him for the first time at a party at Sheba. He was still suffering from back pain then, and he gave a speech in honor of Dr. Moshe (Morris) Azaria before getting in his jeep and going home to Rosh Pina. At the time, he told me that his paintings were waiting for him at home.

Apparently, he was an assertive man. He was a rugged warrior with many accomplishments under his belt in the field of security. But he always had the soul of an artist. In his life, he experienced endless quarrels, but I learned from him that no one would simply stop talking to him, even if they had only angry responses to offer.

His many achievements for Israel's security are characterized by the principle of sticking to one's goals that permeates all of his endeavours. "Until the very end," is what they say about people like Dagan. And that was how he fought in each of Israel's battles, in dealing with national issues, in pursuit of Arab terrorist funds, and especially in his years at the Mossad.

He wasn't always considerate to the leadership while chasing these goals. Late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed him Mossad chief after he worked on Sharon's election campaign; and even though former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's dealings had already been exposed at the time, he approached him for joint business opportunities, justifying his actions by saying "innocent until proven guilty." But did he always follow that rule-

It was not only under fire that Dagan revealed his power of endurance and his leadership abilities, but also in managing state affairs. He was faced with many opponents at the Mossad, but he stuck to his guns until everyone recognized the wisdom in his original leadership style. When it comes to intelligence strategy, he was among the very best.

Dagan's Zionist world view was in many ways formed by a photograph of a Jew kneeling in front of a Nazi before being murdered. He made a promise to himself to dedicate his life to the saying "never again." And that is what he did. The problem was that when he made mistakes, he continued to go forward, ignoring any restrictions. He did the same when he was successful and had a worthy goal.

Dagan said we should avoid attacking Iran, and he refused to believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Ehud Barak were implementing sophisticated policies designed to get the West to impose sanctions on Tehran under the threat of a bombing that would not be realized. Then -- as in other important situations where he made the right decisions -- he refused to stop. In both his accomplishments and his mistakes, his only goal was to benefit Israel.

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