“The Patient but Deadly Struggle”: Decomposition and the Danger of Catastrophic Terrorism as a Method of Political Warfare against the State of Israel

Abstract

This article describes “decomposition” as a tactic of political warfare against the State of Israel. According to Stefan T. Possony, a recognized authority on Cold War strategy, the purpose of decomposition is to weaken an enemy by undermining the “integrating elements of society,” which, in a democracy, are fearlessness and resoluteness. Several means of weakening a society are: exploiting social cleavages and encouraging defeatism, thus making it vulnerable to a military attack. Decomposition as a tactic of warfare has its roots in Asian traditions. Members of the General Staff of Imperial Russia studied the methods of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane and, over time, the lessons of this research became part of the doctrine of the Red Army and its modern successors. There are clear indications that the methods of decomposition and the culture of defeatism have found support in contemporary Israeli society. During the domestic crisis of 2023, the opponents of the legally elected government endeavored to undermine its legitimacy at home and abroad, as well as its defense system which depends on the voluntary mobilization of reserves. Broadcasting a message of weakness and vulnerability is dangerous because it may be interpreted as an invitation for an aggressor. Under such circumstances, Hamas invaded the Western Negev and carried out a barbaric massacre on October 7, 2023. This act of Catastrophic Terror was a transforming event. In 1998, members of the team who identified and described the dangers of Catastrophic Terror anticipated the attack on the World Trade Center which took place on September 11, 2001. One of its consequences was the publication of the 9/11 Commission Report. The mandate of this commission was to investigate the “facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.” This elegant division of the subject could serve as a model for Israel. The present study deals mainly with the circumstances and the domestic political controversy which preceded the events of October 7, 2023. Gathering and studying the actual facts is a task for future researchers. It is clear that the members of the 9/11 Commission knew that they were dealing with a deadly new threat and described it accurately in the preface to their report: We learned about an enemy who is sophisticated, patient, disciplined, and lethal. The enemy rallies broad support in the Arab and Muslim world by demanding redress of political grievances, but its hostility toward us and our values is limitless. Its purpose is to rid the world of religious and political pluralism, the plebiscite, and equal rights for women. It makes no distinction between military and civilian targets. Collateral damage is not in its lexicon. This observation applies to present-day Israel and the free world.