While the nations of the world, armed with the Goldstone Report, accuse the Israel Defense Forces of being a repressive army that routinely commits war crimes, the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was in Israel last week to study the tactics and methods of the IDF.
The Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, said during his two-day visit that he was studying the IDF in order to gain a better understanding of how to deal with the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
Adm. Di Paola and Israeli army chief Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi also discussed upgrading ties between NATO and the IDF, including plans for an Israeli warship to join a routine patrol of the eastern Mediterranean by NATO naval forces.
The timing of Adm. Di Paola's visit was significant in that is coincided with pressure from some NATO members and allies, in particular Turkey, to downgrade relations with Israel in light of alleged war crimes in Gaza.