On the surface, things are looking pretty bleak in Israel. I have been spinning my wheels trying to find a positive spin on the evictions from Gaza; I have come up with this:

Iran, and to a lesser extent Syria, poses an existential threat to Israel. If Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, there is no question they will try to use it on Israel. Heck, they've said so themselves. Syria and their bedfellows Hezbollah have chemical weapons and the delivery methods for attack well within the borders of Israel. Some have put the number of chemical rockets in the thousands. The scary part is that Israel can have the best anti-missile missiles, but what the terrorists lack in technology, they make up in volume.

The paleos (LGF jargon - get with it!) are not an existential threat to Israel. They are a murderous bunch who are threatening our way of life in Israel, and have no compunctions murdering women and children (and men too for that matter).

Perhaps the withdrawal has a strategic value of "redeploying the troops". The thought is that we need to pull our families out of Gaza so that 1) the resources spent on protecting them will be elsewhere, and/or 2) we can seal off the wall in Gaza to more easily and effectively separate the paleos - and fry the bigger fish the the north and west. I believe that Ariel Sharon has put the emphasis on containing or beating up Iran and Syria. To do so requires separation from the painful hornets - they sting but we can spray their nest if necessary. There was a Debka article one year ago saying that Sharon has shifted the focus of the Mossad from being involved in all sorts of worldly activities, to concentrating only on Iran. Can you imagine? Redirecting the legendary Mossad to combat only one country? Evidently Sharon and others feel that the danger from Iran is so great, that if it can not be overcome, the other dangers will not matter.

So, militarily, focus your forces on the fight you must win, and push off the fight you can fight tomorrow.