Israel: Expert says "overconfidence" explains "defense failure"

A rain of rockets from Gaza, hundreds of Hamas militants entering Israel and taking with them more than a hundred hostages... The worst possible scenario for a country that boasts of having eyes and ears everywhere... but who made three catastrophic failures according to Peter Lerner, Israeli national security expert

"Overconfidence in the military understanding of the defense mechanisms that exist, whether it's the Iron Dome or the barrier that was completed a couple of years ago and there was full faith in the ability to prevent subterranean attacks, the lack of intelligence, and ultimately, the failure of the defensive line itself. So you have these three circles of defense that did not do what they should have," says Peter Lerner, expert on Israel's national security. 

The Israeli spy services are among the best in the world, but their expertise did not help at all to prevent what happened...

"Just two weeks ago, senior officials and intelligence officials were saying that Hamas is not interested in a widespread conflict, precisely because of previous setbacks. They're still licking their wounds, precisely because they want to maintain their rule over the Gaza Strip and not put that rule at risk. This is obviously a miscalculation, a great miscalculation on the part of the intelligence community," adds the Israeli security expert.

According to Peter Lerner the Army will move with lead feet in the areas with hostage situations... and a thorough investigation to clarify responsibilities for the security failures in this Israeli 9/11 once the war against Hamas is concluded.