Primary Conclusions

Chapter 11 presents the primary conclusions derived from the proceeding chapters, as a basis for the national security strategy proposed in chapter 12. The conclusions are divided into four categories, general, politico-military, military, and domestic policy. The chapter also discusses the pitfalls involved in recommending a national security strategy, such as physical and political feasibility; limitations stemming from the absence of classified information; and possible normative biases. The chapter begins by setting out Israel’s vital national security objectives, that is, a core set of fundamental, essentially immutable interests, and then a variety of lesser, though still highly important, ones, some relatively permanent, others that change with circumstances. It further presents a number of “policy instruments” of such importance, for example, preserving the strategic relationship with the United States, that they can be considered vital objectives in their own right and are thus part of the basis for the proposed strategy.