“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”— Bob Dylan

In June 1967, only days after Israel’s stunning victory in the Six-Day War, French President Charles de Gaulle imposed an arms embargo on Israel. Overnight, the nation that had become Israel’s principal supplier of advanced fighter aircraft closed the door.

For most countries, such a decision would have created a strategic crisis.

For Israel, it became a strategic lesson.

Rather than simply searching for another supplier, Israel transformed itself. It modified existing aircraft, developed indigenous avionics, built world-class electronic warfare capabilities, and eventually created aircraft such as the Nesher and the Kfir. More importantly, it learned that long-term military superiority depends less on the nationality of an aircraft than on a nation’s ability to innovate faster than its adversaries.

History is valuable not because it tells us what happened.

History is valuable because it teaches us what to do when something similar happens again.

Today, as geopolitical alliances become less predictable and American foreign policy becomes increasingly debated across the political spectrum, Israel should ask a strategic—not........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)