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Between shelter and coffee, Eisenkot says Dahiya doctrine falls short - analysis

On March 10, 2026, The Jerusalem Post published Between shelter and coffee, Eisenkot says Dahiya doctrine falls short - analysis, by Eli Ashkenazi. Most of the report is a northern-border visit with Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of the Israel Defense Forces who is now in the opposition. In that visit he rejects a ground invasion of Iran and compares the idea to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam. An American family should care because those are American ground wars, and he is saying a ground invasion of Iran would dwarf them.

Background for new readers: On 28 February 2026 the United States and Israel began a joint air war on Iran. The Pentagon calls its part Operation Epic Fury; Israel calls its part Operation Roaring Lion. It came eight months after a shorter war in June 2025, when US bombers hit Iran's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The question running through this section is whether the air war turns into American soldiers fighting on Iranian soil. This article is filed under Israeli Leaders on a Ground War; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. The Jerusalem Post quotes a named former IDF chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, during a reported visit to Israel's northern border. The rating covers his quoted words.

What the article says​

Ashkenazi follows Eisenkot through kibbutz shelters and a border town while Hezbollah fire is hitting the north. Eisenkot says Israel defined goals in Gaza and Lebanon and did not carry them out. He says this war is not only against Hezbollah. Iran built the chain, he says, Syria was the supply rear, and Lebanon is where it was carried out. He says the war must end with change in Iran: dismantling the nuclear program, and stopping the money and the proxy forces.

The reporter then writes that Eisenkot does not see a scenario of a ground invasion of Iran. The reason is given in Eisenkot's words.

"It's a huge country with 90 million residents. After Iraq and Afghanistan, that would be Vietnam times a hundred."

Gadi Eisenkot, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post, March 10, 2026.

He adds that you have to strike centers of gravity. That is the opposite of occupying the country. Later he does call for a ground maneuver. That passage is about moving into Lebanon to protect Israel's northern towns, and he says the open question is how deep to go. He also says the government must call up draft dodgers. On this page those are Israelis, including the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, public he says is not serving. They are not Americans.

The Dahiya doctrine, which the headline names, is Eisenkot's older method: answer fire from a village with heavy force against the places fighters use, so the fight is shorter. He says that method still applies in Lebanon, and that what Israel is doing now is not strong enough. That argument is about Lebanon, not about sending an army into Iran.

What other reporting adds​

Others used the same comparison. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told Sky News a week later: "Just read what happened in Vietnam." (as relayed by @OwenGregorian on X, 18 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t13__v150.md). Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former Hamas insider who became an informant for Israel, wrote before the war that "boots on the ground would be required, leading to years of brutal urban fighting similar to Fallujah, Khan Yunis, and Afghanistan." (@MosabHasanYOSEF on X, 24 January 2026; research capture: twitter/t52__v613.md). Haaretz quoted an unnamed expert saying a ground offensive "would make the Iraq war look like a walk in the park" (see 'Iranian Quagmire': Experts Warn American 'Boots on the Ground' Could Trap U.S.).

The numbers behind "a huge country." An analyst who ran the division math a week later concluded: "The US cannot occupy Iran even with a draft." (Policy Tensor on X, 18 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t54__v638.md).

What it shows​

Israel's own former army chief knows exactly what a ground war in Iran would cost: "Vietnam times a hundred" in "a huge country with 90 million residents." Israel will not fight that war; his call for a ground maneuver is for Lebanon, and his call to draft draft-dodgers is for Israelis to defend Israel's borders. Yet in the same weeks, Netanyahu said "there has to be a ground component" in Iran and the Pentagon drew up ground options for American troops. The cost an Israeli general measured in Vietnams is the one this war asks Americans to carry. See Israel Keeps Its Infantry Home and Troop Math.

Check it yourself​

Status: Gadi Eisenkot is alive.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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