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Israel
Aman
Military intelligence, or Aman, with an estimated staff of 7,000
personnel, produced comprehensive national intelligence estimates
for the prime minister and cabinet, daily intelligence reports,
risk of war estimates, target studies on nearby Arab countries,
and communications intercepts. Aman also conducted across-border
agent operations. Aman's Foreign Relations Department was responsible
for liaison with foreign intelligence services and the activities
of Israeli military attachés abroad. Aman was held responsible
for the failure to obtain adequate warning of the Egyptian-Syrian
attack that launched the October 1973 War. Many indications of
the attack were received but faulty assessments at higher levels
permitted major Arab gains before the IDF could mobilize and stabilize
the situation.
During preparations for the invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Aman
correctly assessed the weaknesses of the Christian militia on
which Israel was depending and correctly predicted that a clash
with the Syrian garrison in Lebanon was inevitable. The chief
of intelligence, Major General Yehoshua Saguy, made these points
to the general staff and privately to the prime minister. But,
although he was present at cabinet meetings, he failed to make
his doubts known to avoid differing openly with Begin and Sharon.
Saguy was forced to retire after the Kahan Commission found that
he had been delinquent in his duties regarding the massacres at
the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps (see The Siege
of Beirut and its Aftermath , this ch.)
Small air force and naval intelligence units operated as semi-autonomous
branches of Aman. Air force intelligence primarily used aerial
reconnaissance and radio intercepts to collect information on
strength levels of Arab air forces and for target compilation.
In addition to reconnaissance aircraft, pilotless drones were
used extensively to observe enemy installations. Naval intelligence
collected data on Arab and Soviet naval activities in the Mediterranean
and prepared coastal studies for naval gunfire missions and beach
assaults.
Data as of December 1988
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