Raid on the Sun (29 page)

Authors: Rodger W. Claire

BOOK: Raid on the Sun

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First things first: I need to thank Don and Kathy Hutchison, without whose belief, advice, and support—literally—from the earliest days, this book would not exist. As for the writing itself, I owe much to the perspicaciousness and craftsmanship of my agent, David Halpern, of The Robbins Office, and of my editor at Broadway Books, Charles Conrad. David not only did all the wonderful things agents do—like getting me paid—but also functioned as a first editor, advising me on style, pace, and organization. Charlie proved to be a superior editor, not only in helping me frame my tale but also by suggesting wonderfully imaginative ways to make a sometimes complex military story eminently readable. The “countdown” sequences that precede each chapter were Charlie’s genius.

I would especially like to thank Tal Yanai for his always-dependable research, Hebrew translations, and deep knowledge of Israeli history and politics. Without Tal and his wife, Dr. Jamie Miles, I would have had a difficult task absorbing the complexities of Israeli culture and the national character. Likewise, thanks to Hossan Hamalawy, an Egyptian stringer for the
Los Angeles Times
; Hossan found and interviewed an Egyptian student who’d befriended and admired Hussein while he was in exile in Cairo.

Like most creative enterprises, a book is also a team effort, and I would never have succeeded without the invaluable aid of Mark Regev, the press counselor at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., who smoothed the bureaucratic waters on both sides of the Atlantic; editorial assistant Alison Presley, who made everything so much easier; Bob Gaston, for astute military and legal insights; Geoff Miller, for consistently good counsel and taste; famed
Time
photographer Ben Martin, who shot my jacket portrait; Major Janske of the California Air National Guard, 144th Fighter Wing, for an exhilarating up-close look at the F-16 Fighting Falcon; my wife, Ann, and the girls, Wren and Kelsey, for allowing me to commandeer the dining room table for twelve months; and, finally, the guys at The Farm.

INDEX

*The following items may be used as a guide to search for information in this eBook.

Abul-Khail, Abdullah

Admoni, Nahum

aircraft.
See also
F-15 aircraft; F-16 aircraft

Al Auja

Allen, Richard V.

al-Tuwaitha.
See
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy

AMAN

American Enterprise Institute

Arab Legion

Arab Rejectionist Front

Arab states, reactions to air strike

Arafat, Yasser

Arbel, David

Argentina, reaction to Osirak air strike

atomic bomb.
See
nuclear weapons

Atomic Energy (AE), Iraq; Hamza report to.
See also
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy

Attia, Ali

Aziz, Tariq

Babylonian captivity

Baghdad: in 1950s; Palestinian refugees in (1960s)

Bahrain, reaction to air strike

Bahr al Milh Lake

Baker, James A.

Bakr, Ahmed Hassan al-

Ba’th Party; Qassem assassination attempt; Qassem ouster

Ba’th Revolutionary Command Council (RCC)

Begin, Menachem; during mission; and foreign reactions to air strike; media apprisal of air strike; mission cancellations; mission consideration and approvals; notifies U.S. of air strike; political aftermath

Ben-Amitay, Udi

Ben-Gurion, David

Ben-Nun, Avihu

Bergmann, Ernst

Biran, David

Black September

bombs, for Osirak air strike

Brazil, nuclear negotiations with Iraq

Britain: KH-11 intelligence access; reaction to air strike; in Suez War; view of Iraqi reactor purchase

Brown Boveri

Bush, George H. W.

Cairo, Saddam Hussein in

Camp David Accords

Camp David summit

Carter, Jimmy

Casey, William J.

Chalabi, Ahman

Chaussepied, Damen

Cheney, Richard

Cheysson, Claude

Chirac, Jacques

Clinton, Bill

Columbia space shuttle explosion

Committee to Safeguard the Islamic Revolution

Costello, James

De Gaulle, Charles

Dimona reactor; Begin’s press conference revelation

Donovan, Jack (Ran S.)

Egypt: reaction to air strike; in Suez War; U.S. arms sales to; in Yom Kippur War

Eichmann, Adolf

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

Eitan, Rafael “Raful”; adds Spector to team; after mission completion; during mission; final briefing of pilots; and final mission approval; final mission design; and Israeli cabinet consideration of raid; and May 10 mission cancellation; on eve of mission

Eitan, Yoram

Entebbe airport raid

Etzion Air Force Base

F-15 aircraft; mission support squadron

F-16 aircraft; fuel range problems; ordnance training; U.S. sale to Israel

Faisal II (King of Iraq)

Falk, Rani; mission preparation; Spector and; at 2001 reunion

France: arms sales to Iraq; deaths of Iraqi scientists in; evacuation of NRC technicians; French air strike casualty; Israeli diplomatic pressure on; La Seyne-sur-Mer sabotage; 1981 elections; nuclear deal with Iraq; nuclear deal with Israel; oil dependence; reaction to air strike; Saddam Hussein’s 1975 visit to; in Suez War

Gemayel, Bashir

General Dynamics Corporation

Ghafour, Humam al-

Ghariri, Abdul-Whahab al-

Gil, Yehuda

Giraud, André

Giscard d’Estaing, Valéry

Graham, Lindsey

Greece, reaction to Osirak air strike

Groupe des Ecologistes Français

Gulf War

Gur, Mordechai

Gur, Motta

H-3 airfield

Habib, Philip

Haig, Alexander

Halim, Butrus Eben

Halim, Samira

Halprin, Emmanuel

Hamza, Khidhir; defection to U.S.; during and after air strike; and French nuclear deal; knowledge of weapons program; and La Seyne-sur-Mer sabotage; and Meshad; report on NRC operations

Hashemites

Hashimi, Abdul-Razzaq al-

Hassan, Ibrahim

Hassan, Sabha Talfah

Hazzaa, Omar al-

Hersh, Seymour

Hill Air Force Base F-16 training school

Hofi, Yitzhak; and acquisition of al-Tuwaitha plans; and Israeli cabinet consideration of raid; and La Seyne-sur-Mer sabotage; opposition to mission; post-strike press conference and ouster; and SNIA Technit bombings

Hou, Shou

Hussein (King of Jordan)

Hussein, Saddam: childhood; distrust of Iraqi Shi’ites; early adulthood; and French nuclear deal; Kuwait invasion; Night of the Long Knives; in 1970s; 1979 visit to Osirak; 1968 return to Iraq; nuclear weapons aspirations; paranoia and eccentricities; pilots’ fear of; post-strike visit to NRC; Qassem assassination attempt; reaction to Osirak air strike; and Soviet nuclear deal; wealth

Hussein, Udai

hydrogen bomb

IAF.
See
Israeli Air Force

IDF.
See
Israel Defense Force

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Iran: Iran-Iraq war; Shah Pahlavi’s overthrow; Tehran hostage rescue mission

Iraq: ethnic divisions; Iran-Iraq war; Iraq War (2003); Kuwait invasion and Gulf War; relations with U.S.; U.S. arms sales to

Iraqi army

Iraqi nuclear weapons development: nuclear alliance with France; nuclear deal with Soviet Union; U.N. weapons inspections.
See also
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy; Osirak reactor

Isis reactor

Israel: alliance with Lebanese Phalangists; June 1981 elections; KH-11 intelligence access; relations with U.S.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Israeli Air Force (IAF)

Israeli Bomb, The
(Jabir)

Israeli cabinet: mission consideration and approvals; monitoring of mission

Israeli conflicts: Lebanon; Six-Day War; Suez War; War for Independence; Yom Kippur War

Israeli nuclear weapons development; nuclear alliance with France; post-strike criticisms of.
See also
Dimona reactor

Israeli parliament; reaction to air strike

Italy: evacuation of NRC technicians; reaction to air strike; SNIA Technit nuclear deal and bombings

Ivry, David; after mission completion; as ambassador to U.S.; during mission; at final briefing; final mission approval; final mission design; foreign reactions to air strike; Iranian air strike; Israeli cabinet consideration of mission; May 10 mission cancellation; mission planning; mission preparation; Mossad acquisition of al-Tuwaitha plans; on eve of mission; pilot selection; Spector’s addition; U.S. F-16 purchase

Ivry, Ofera

Jabir, Fouad

Jaffar, Jaffar Dhia

Japan, reaction to Osirak air strike

Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of

Jordan: mission flight over; reaction to air strike; U.S. arms sales to.
See also
Six-Day War

Kamel, Hussein

Katz, Hagai; after mission completion; during mission; final preparations and takeoff; mission preparation; on mission day; Spector and; at 2001 reunion; at USAF training school

Katz, Ora

Kenya, reaction to air strike

KH-11 reconnaissance satellite

Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah

Kirkpatrick, Jeanne

Kivity, Joseph

Knesset

Kurds

Kuwait: Iraqi invasion and Gulf War; reaction to air strike

Lebanon Civil War

Lewis, Samuel

Libya, reaction to air strike

Magalle, Marie-Claude

Mallah, Moyesser al-

Mascola, Jean François

Meir, Golda

Meshad, Yahia al-

Michaels, Gary

Mitterrand, François

Morocco, reaction to air strike

Mossad; Halim recruitment; Hofi ouster; Meshad recruitment and murder; sabotage at La Seyne-sur-Mer; satellite intelligence gathering; SNIA Technit bombings; and U.S. CIA; view of Osirak air strike

Mukhabarat

Nachumi, Amir; after mission completion; during mission; at final briefing; final preparations and takeoff; friction with Raz; and May 10 cancellation,; mission preparation; Spector and; at 2001 reunion

Najaf

Nasser, Gamal

Nebuchadnezzar

Night of the Long Knives

NRC.
See
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corporation (NUMEC)

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

nuclear reactors: basic physics of.
See also
Dimona reactor; Isis reactor; Osirak reactor

Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy (al-Tuwaitha, Iraq); after Israeli air strike; after La Seyne-sur-Mer sabotage; deaths of NRC scientists abroad; defenses; evacuation of foreign technicians; Gulf War bombing; Iranian air strike on; Iraqi media report on; Israeli intelligence gathering; layout; Mossad’s recruitment and murder of Meshad; 1979 jailing of scientists; Saddam Hussein’s charge to develop bomb; Saddam Hussein’s 1979 visit to; Soviet reactor deal.
See also
Osirak reactor

nuclear weapons, basic physics of

nuclear weapons development.
See
Iraqi nuclear weapons development; Israeli nuclear weapons development

NUMEC (Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corporation)

O’Brien, John

Office of Research and Development

OPEC oil embargo

Operation Babylon (Operation Hatakh Moshem).
See
Osirak air strike

Ophir (girlfriend of Ilan Ramon)

Osirak air strike: aircraft for; aircraft fuel range; bombing; casualties; CSAR team; execution of; F-15 support squadron; final mission design; final preparations and takeoff; flight plan; foreign reaction to; Iran-Iraq war and; Iraqi defense; Israeli cabinet consideration and approval; Israeli cabinet monitoring of; Israeli intelligence gathering; Israeli parliament reaction to; leaking of plans for; May 10 cancellation; media announcement of; navigation problems; observations from the ground; ordnance for; outward flight; pilot selection; pilot training; planning of; political aftermath; pre-mission briefing; reaction at NRC; return flight; rumors about; timing of; videorecording of

Osirak reactor; acquisition of; effect of Israeli airstrike; Iranian air strike; Mossad sabotage of parts shipment; reprocessing unit purchase.
See also
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy

Ostrovsky, Victor

Pahlavi, Mohammed Reza

Pakistan, nuclear weapons program

Palestine Liberation Organization.
See
PLO

Palestinian refugees: in 1960s Baghdad; Lebanese refugee camp massacres

Peres, Shimon

Perle, Richard

pilots: after mission completion; disclosure of target to; final briefing; final preparations and takeoff; friction among; June 2001 reunion; mission disclosure to wives; mission execution; mission preparation; on eve of mission; selection; Spector’s addition; training casualties; U.S. training.
See also
individual pilots by name

planes.
See
aircraft; F-15 aircraft; F-16 aircraft

PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization); reaction to air strike

plutonium production; Dimona reactor; Osirak reactor

Porath, Uri

Qaddafi, Muammar

Qanbar, Entifadh

Qassem, Abdul Karim

Rabin, Yitzhak

Ramat David Air Force Base

Ramon, Ilan; after mission completion; during mission; knowledge of target

Ran S. (Jack Donovan)

Rashid, Salman

Rassoul, Abdul-Rahman Abdul

Raz, Zeev; after mission completion; aircraft switch; at cabinet meeting; disclosure of target to pilots; during final approach and bombing; during outward flight; during return flight; at final briefing; final preparations and takeoff; friction with Nachumi; mission preparation; navigation problem during mission; Spector and; at USAF training school

RCC (Ba’th Revolutionary Command Council)

Reagan, Ronald

Rimbaud, Jacques

Sadat, Anwar

Saddam Hussein.
See
Hussein, Saddam

Saguy, Yehoshua; after mission completion; at final briefing; on eve of mission

Said, Nuri al-

Saltovitz, Joseph

Saudi Arabia: mission flight over; U.S. arms sales to

Sella, Aviem; during mission

September 11 attacks

Shafir, Israel “Relik”; after mission completion; during mission; mission preparation; on mission day; at USAF training school

Shahristani, Hussein al-

Shamir, Yitzhak

Shapiro, Zalman

Sharif, Husham

Sharon, Ariel

Shi’ites, in Iraq

Shostak, Eliezer

Six-Day War

smart bombs

SNIA Technit

Soviet Union: Israeli requests for intelligence access; military alliance with Egypt; military alliance with Iraq; reactor sale to Iraq

Spector, Iftach; addition to squadron; after mission completion; bombing misses; during mission; final preparations and takeoff; on mission day; at 2001 reunion

Suez War of 1956

Sunnis, in Iraq

Syria; Bekaa Valley missile deployment; reaction to air strike; in Yom Kippur War

Talfah, Khairallah

Tamerlane

Tammuz.
See also
Nuclear Research Center of Atomic Energy; Osirak reactor

Thatcher, Margaret

Three Mile Island