Hersh, Seymour. The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy. New York: Random House, 1991.

Date: July 17, 1994

This book is an extremely well-organized and well-written, if not well-substantiated, account of the development of Israel's nuclear arsenal in relation to American foreign policy. Hersh's descriptions of the individuals and policy decisions are precise and thorough. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of the story, describing each player in detail from the Israeli leadership to the U.S. intelligence community. However, the narrative progresses cronologically in an interesting an cohesive manner.

Hersh connects the documentary of research with vivid pictures of clashing personalities and political interests, such as Ben-Gurion's frustration with Eisenhower in the midst of Israel's conflicts with Arab leaders. However, Hersh's description of Israel's nuclear alert during invasion by Egypt and Syria in 1973 is certainly a climactic part of the book. In 1973, Golda Meir was Isreal's Prime Minister, Dayan was the Defense Minister, Sadat succeded Nasser in Egypt and Nixon was in the White House. The Sinai and the Golan Heights were invaded on Saturday, October 6, during Yom Kippur. At the point of eminant defeat, Israel armed its nuclear arsenal with threats to use them unless Kissinger authorized a military re-supply of Israel. Upon receiving supplies, Israel successfully thwarted the invasion. Despite a list of references regarding the incident, Hersh admits that "all of the key players are now dead, and none of them left any record of what took place."

In his book, Seize the Moment (1992, p221), Nixon refers to U.S. airlift. He claims that he ordered the airlift in response to a Soviet airlift to Syria and Egypt. He also says that he later "put U.S. nuclear forces on alert to forestall a threatened unilateral Soviet intervention in the region." He continues by noting that "Israel has built nuclear weapons."

David Ben-Gurion, Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister (1948-63), enacted the nuclear weapons program at the Dimona nuclear weapons facility due to hostilities with its Arab neighbors (primarily Egypt and Syria) and increasing scepticism of Washington's willingness to support Israel in politico-military affairs in the middle east, particularly under the Eisenhower administration. Ben-Gurion is portrayed as a strong-willed, able statesman devoted to the protection of Israel. With the assistance of his director general of defense, Shimon Peres (the current Foreign Minister of Israel), he appoints Ernst Bergmann to head up the nuclear power/weapons program, as the Israeli counterpart to Robert Oppenheimer of the U.S.'s Manhatten Project.

Ernst Bergmann - chemist, director of Israeli nuclear programs.

Arthur Lundahl - director of Photographics Intelligence Division of CIA.

Dino Brugioni (CIA) - studied nuclear facility at Dimona via U2 photos.

Lewis Strauss - chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) until 1958.

Abraham Feinberg - Wealthy Jewish Businessman from New York, and fundraiser and lobbyist for Israeli interests in the United States.

John McCone - Replaced Dulles as CIA director in fall of 1961.

Simon Peres - Former Israeli Defense Minister

1947 - Plutonium discovered in the Negev.

Joint nuclear research begins in Israel with the French Atomic Energy Commision

under the chemist, Bergmann.

1950-60 - U.S. arms embargo to Israel under Truman/Eisenhower.

1953 - Israel finds new means for creating H2O2.

1954 - Nasser becomes premier of Egypt.

1955 - January, Socialist government is assumed in France under Guy Mollet.

1956 - July 1, First operation of the U2 spy plane.

1958 - July, McCone replaces Lewis Strauss as chief of AEC; he is briefed on Dimona.

Syria and Eqypt form the United Arab Republic.

Qassem overthrows the pro-Western Iraqi monarchy.

1960 - France performs its first nuclear test.

DeGaulle expresses opposition to an Israeli nuclear bomb; offers other support.

Private French contractors continued to work at Dimona until 1966.

Gary Powers shot down by Soviets, created political problems for the U2 program.

Dulles (CIA) leaks story of Dimona to a NY Times reporter, Finney.

1967 - Moshe Dayan becomes Israeli Defense Minister.

1968 - Dayan gives the Labor party head, Pinhas Sapir, a full tour of the facilities at

Dimona.

Dimona completed and ordered into full scale operation, capable of processing

material for 4 to 5 warheads per year; expected arsenal of 25 warheads by 1973.

Israel lacks a warhead delivery system.

1973 - October 6, Syria and Egypt invade Israel.

October 8, under eminent defeat without supplies from U.S., Israel goes to full-

scale nuclear alert.

1978 - Israeli acquisition of uranium occurs. Discussed in The Plumbat Affair.

1979 - September 22, A nuclear test is detected by the U.S. over the Indian Ocean during

a storm.

President Carter provides Israel with KH-11 photographs of "potentially

threatening activities as deep as one hundred miles inside the borders of

neighboring Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan."

1986 - Vanuna, a released worker from the Dimona facility gives his story to the London

Sunday Times. He is abducted and tried by Israel and sentenced to 18 years in

Israeli prison. His notes provided experts with estimates of Dimona's weapons

capability.

POST - During a press conference at the White House following the signing of the peace

(7-27-94) treaty between Israel and Syria, Yitzak Rabin (Israeli Prime Minister) was asked

about Israel's plans for its nuclear arsenal. The Prime Minister said that Israel is

not a nuclear country in terms of weapons and therefore the "question is

irrelavent."

J. Sprigg