Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi attended an IDF exercise in the Golan Heights on Wednesday morning, only minutes before the Defense Minister rushed off to Jerusalem to attend a cabinet meeting discussing the possibility of embarking on large scale Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip. Wednesday’s massive IDF exercise seemed to be a clear show of force by Israel to send a warning message to both Hizbullah in the north and Hamas in the South that Israeli troops are poised to act. 12/10/08