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leveymg

(36,418 posts)
8. I kid you not. Israel effectively used nuclear blackmail to force U.S. arms shipments
Mon May 21, 2012, 11:52 AM
May 2012

Last edited Mon May 21, 2012, 08:39 PM - Edit history (3)

during the '73 War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War

By October 8, Israel had encountered military difficulties on both fronts. In the Sinai, Israeli efforts to break through Egyptian lines with armor had been thwarted, and while Israel had contained and begun to turn back the Syrian advance, Syrian forces were still overlooking the Jordan River and their air defense systems were inflicting a high toll on Israeli planes.[244][245][246] It became clear by October 9 that no quick reversal in Israel's favor would occur and that IDF losses were unexpectedly high.[247]

During the night of October 8–9, an alarmed Dayan told Meir that "this is the end of the third temple."[245] He was warning of Israel's impending total defeat, but "Temple" was also the code word for nuclear weapons.[246] Dayan again raised the nuclear topic in a cabinet meeting, warning that the country was approaching a point of "last resort."[248] That night Meir authorized the assembly of thirteen 20-kiloton-of-TNT (84 TJ) tactical atomic weapons for Jericho missiles at Sdot Micha Airbase, and F-4 aircraft at Tel Nof Airbase, for use against Syrian and Egyptian targets.[246] They would be used if absolutely necessary to prevent total defeat, but the preparation was done in an easily detectable way, likely as a signal to the United States.[248] Kissinger learned of the nuclear alert on the morning of October 9. That day, President Nixon ordered the commencement of Operation Nickel Grass, an American airlift to replace all of Israel's material losses.[249] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Kissinger told Sadat that the reason for the U.S. airlift was that the Israelis were close to "going nuclear."[246] European countries refused to allow US airplanes carrying supplies for Israel to refuel at their bases, fearing an Arab oil embargo, with the exception of Portugal and the Netherlands.


You seem to be unfamiliar with the history of Israel's use of threats of nuclear weapons as realpolitik. Also, related, please read this about the context of how Israel launched its preemptive '67 war right after it developed its first operational atomic warheads: http://observer.com/2006/12/28/did-israels-acquisition-of-nuclear-weapons-lead-to-1967-war/
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