(CNN) – CNN Cairo went to the beach Monday. It was not, alas, a day of rest. We assembled at 2 a.m. at the headquarters of the Egyptian Army's "Morale Guidance" Bureau, from where we were bussed, an hour later, to the northern coast to cover the 2009 Brightstar Exercises.

This year 17,000 troops from Egypt, the United States, Jordan, Pakistan, Germany, Italy, and Kuwait - to name a few - are taking part.

These military exercises have been conducted every two years since 1981.

There is a certain predictability about these affairs. The officers, whatever the country, are all upbeat, talking about cooperation, partnership and mutual respect.

But in the end, these are war games: A rehearsal for something to which other, far less lofty terms come to mind. The officers we interviewed - Americans and Egyptians - speak in glowing adjectives, but dodge questions about what or whom the exercises are preparing for.

I covered Brightstar 10 years ago. Back then it was also all about partnership and cooperation. But in the combat operations room of the USS John F. Kennedy, I had a premonition of what was to come. On a map of clear plastic, written in magic marker over Baghdad were the words: "Target: Saddam."

Ten years later Saddam is gone; U.S. forces are bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, while targets have been hit in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan.

Voices have been raised in the U.S. – though more loudly and insistently in Israel - calling for military action against Iran, which is accused by some of pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Back in 1999 it was fairly clear that sooner or later the U.S. and its allies would, somehow or other, bring down Saddam Hussein. After September 11, 2001, regardless of Iraq's non-involvement in those attacks, Saddam's days were running out.

I don't think, at this moment, an attack against Iran (by Israel, by the U.S., or both) is as inevitable as Saddam Hussein's demise. But the possibility is there.

As the sun rose over the desert, I watched three C17 "Globemasters," which had flown straight from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, drop hundreds of paratroopers - mostly Americans along with a few Egyptians and Pakistanis. Later, a pair of American Cobra gunships provided air support as three huge U.S. Navy hovercraft disgorged a dozen armored humvees on a beautiful Mediterranean beach, already "secured" by U.S., Egyptian, Pakistani and Jordanian troops.

It was an impressive display of force and hardware, as well as cooperation and partnership. However it's easy to see from the weapons on display who is the senior "partner."

Sitting in the press bus on my way back to Cairo typing this with my thumbs on a blackberry, I wonder if, as the American and Egyptian officers told us, the Brightstar exercises aren't designed for a specific threat then what is the point?

JERUSALEM - If the Israeli election results play out as expected, some implications:

Livni exceeded expectations thanks to a smart election campaign. 

1. Livni's win looks big mostly because she did better than "expected." She was running behind in the pre-election polls and was not expected to win. She beat "expected."

2. She won because the right-wing vote was split - 27-28 seats for Netanyahu's party, 14-15 seats for Lieberman's party. Livni's party got 29-30 seats.

3. The right made the big gains. Likud (Netanyahu) more than doubled its seats, from 12 to 27-28. Lieberman went from 11 to 14-15.

4. The left did not gain. Kadima (Livni) stayed about the same, 29 seats in 2006, 29-30 now. Labor (Barak) lost big.

5. How did Livni do it?

a) She used a very smart new campaign theme in the last week: "Only Livni can stop Bibi" (Netanyahu). It appears that a lot of left-wing voters went to her party to stop Bibi.

b) The Obama effect: she managed to run as a fresh face, someone clean and uncorrupted. And most of all, Livni ran on her appeal as a woman. She has never in the past been much of a feminist. Why is this strange? Because Livni has been around and is part of the incumbent government.

c) I saw this at a Livni rally Sunday night. The people there were excited. There was a sense of something new and different about her. Whereas the Netanyahu "rally" was tired and flat, like a meeting of old party veterans.

JERUSALEM – I lucked out this weekend and got interviews with two of the three leading candidates for prime minister.

Israeli voters appeared subdued Tuesday, Bill Schneider says.

We went to see Labor candidate Ehud Barak campaign in a park outside Tel Aviv. Barak greeted me warmly, even though I don't recall that we have ever met before.

He answered some questions for us on camera. Is he expecting a better relationship with the United States now that Obama is president? "My experience with all presidents since President Ford is that each and every president becomes even more friendly with Israel than we can expect," he told me.

I went to a Likud rally Saturday where Benjamin ("Bibi") Netanyahu was speaking. I met Bibi 30 years ago when he was a young press attache in Washington. We used to meet regularly to discuss American politics.

He returned the favor Saturday night. While his aides were rushing him out the door after the rally, Netanyahu saw me, and stopped to chat. I asked him if he would answer a few questions on camera.

He said "Nothing on camera" but he agreed to chat with me off camera which he did for about 10 minutes. Then, against the frenzied resistance of his press aide, Netanyahu agreed to answer one question on camera.

I reminded him that 10 years ago, after his one term as prime minister, the voters threw him out. Now Netanyahu is on the verge of a comeback. What has changed more in 10 years - him or the country?

"You always draw experience from age. You become more thoughtful, more deliberate, you think things through, you listen to other people, you work the team together, - not just as an external appearance but as a deep process," he responded.

"What changed for the country? I think they've realized that the real process that is happening in the Middle East is the rise of militant Islam that has overtaken traditional Israeli-Arab politics. We - out of the best intentions - the Israeli government, have vacated territories. We went out, Hamas and Iran walked in, and we got rockets on our heads.

"The people of Israel want peace, a real peace, they don't want a fake peace that ends up with thousands of rockets on their heads. That's really the first change.

The second change is that they will fight terror and they will embrace peace. They just want to make sure that on the other side of the fence, there is a peaceful Palestinian partner. And for that, we have to weaken the radicals, and strengthen the moderates. This would very much be my policy if I get elected."

Netanyahu also reminded me that I once stood him up for a breakfast meeting at a Washington hotel. I overslept! And he still hasn't forgotten.

We also went to a Kadima party rally for Tzipi Livni Sunday night, but we never got a chance to speak to her. She was spirited away in a van.

Two out of three ain't bad.

Other thoughts:

Israeli voters seem subdued. Even dillusioned. They feel as if they have tried every approach to peace and nothing has worked. They tried negotiations and accommodation under Ehud Barak. Then they tried unilateral disengagement from the territories under Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. Now the voters seem to be saying, the peace process is going nowhere. Security first.

Here's an irony. The election seems likely to produce a big shift to the right in Israel. But the right-wing vote is split between Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu party.

That could open the way for centrist Tzipi Livni's Kadimah Party to come in first. If she does, she will probably get the first chance to form a new government.

But it's hard to see what kind of government she can form in a Knesset (parliament) dominated by the right.

JERUSALEM – It's been more than three weeks since Israel's operation in Gaza. Images of death and destruction are fresh in Israeli minds ... as are the victory signs from soldiers leaving Gaza.Despite international condemnation at the high number of Palestinian civilain casualties, it was a popular war in Israel. Domestic support was strong throughout, especially among residents within Palestinian militant rocket range and it was perceived in Israel as a success.

Tuesday's Israeli election will determine who should take the credit.

Foreign minister Tzipi Livni has given herself a tough war image, her television advert focuses on the military assault on Gaza and statements about not allowing Hamas to decide Israel's fate.

The biggest winner from the war appears to have been defense minister Ehud Barak. Before the operation he was tipped to win just 8 of the 120 seats in parliament - that briefly doubled in some polls.

But still in the lead, albeit only just, Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud Party. He was not in a position of power during the war but has invested in a healthy dose of "I told you so," telling voters he warned Israel in 2005 that pulling Israeli settlers and soldiers out of Gaza would result in Palestinian militant rockets hitting major cities. At the time he was ridiculed by his political rivals: his supporters say he has been proven right.

If the polls are to be believed, Israeli voters are moving to the right in their choice of government. More bellicose statements following a major military operation. A small number of rockets are still falling in southern Israel and that is playing into the hands of Netanyahu and a party even further right-wing than his, Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu.

But nothing is set in stone in these elections: centrist Kadima looks to be a very close second to right-wing Likud, and pollsters estimate up to a fifth of the voting population hasn't even made up their minds yet.