We were over the target for two or three minutes. Bash Dulki Village, 5 km southeast; [6], The mandate was dissolved in 1946 because of a British ultimatum to France, and Syria became an independent country on 17 April 1946. A lot of people told him that it wasnt possible that there was a reactor, and that it would be a pity to waste the resources and the time. Nechushtan, the head of the Planning Directorate, has said that according to the scenario the planning and intelligence directorates had drawn up, We were going to take Assad by surprise. We had satellite pictures of a large building in the middle of the desert, with no explanation, says the MI chief at the time, Gen. For other water conflicts, see, Arab League summit meeting convened in Cairo, "Turning Water into Fire: the Jordan River as the Hidden Factor in The Six Day War", http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu18ce/uu18ce0a.htm#10.%20principles%20for%20confidence%20building%20measures%20in%20the%20jordan%20river%20watershed, http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E0m.htm, "An American in Palestine: Elwood Mead and Zionist Water Resource Planning, 1923-1936", Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command, Wave of violence in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 194, UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 242, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=War_over_Water_(Jordan_river)&oldid=1146917736, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 March 2023, at 19:01. Shkedi emerged from the control booth [in the command post] only after the planes were out of the range of danger. Barak, shouting, argued that he had not authorized the presentation. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. Meir Dagan was very determined. Olmert stayed in his office to work. USS. [b], Modern Syria was first established in 1920 as the Arab Kingdom of Syria under King Faisal I. According to reports in the American media, his assassination was a join Mossad-CIA operation in revenge for Mughniyehs role in hijacking a TWA airliner in Beirut in 1985, and for attacking U.S. Marines in Lebanon two years earlier. He believed that the operational plans the IDF had formulated for attacking the plant had not yet matured sufficiently and did not ensure complete success. After mulling everything over, and at the advice of former Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Olmert decided to share the sensitive new information about Syria with the Americans. It certainly started as an uprising of Syrian citizens. The airbase has been occupied by the Syrian military throughout the country's six-year civil war, and Syrian Air Force Su-22 and MiG-23 warplanes fly from there. The cabinet met for a discussion in Jerusalem in the morning. In a series of cabinet meetings, the hostility between the prime minister and his defense minister became more extreme. This system created a class society reflecting urban-rural living patterns. Michael Hayden, the head of the CIA, wrote years later in The Washington Post that he told Bush that his agency had concluded that the site at Al Kibar was part of a nuclear weapons program and there was no other explanation for its existence. [22] The military committee ordered a group of junior officers to recruit the leading independent Colonel Ziad al-Hariri, the commander of the front facing Israel, to their cause. For me, today it connects with our ability to remove threats in distant countries in the third circle [meaning, Iran]. When Olmert expressed concern about the possibility that the Syrians would preempt Israel and activate the reactor, Barak downplayed the risk of attacking a hot reactor. The US says it conducted two rounds of air strikes in eastern Syria in one day against groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). That evening, the wedding of the chief of staffs secretary, Liron, went ahead as planned. Immediately after the attack, Israel embarked on a diplomatic blitz that had been prepared in advance by the Prime Ministers Bureau, the Mossad, MI and the Foreign Ministry. All the intelligence people who knew Bashar told me: Its not like Bashar. The committee decided state policies before the sessions of the NCRC, and by doing so became the real seat of power. The trick was not to take responsibility and immediately after the bombing to push ahead with a diplomatic effort that would convince other countries of the reliability of the information about what the Syrians were preparing and spur them to act to restrain him., Two different air force strike options were on the table, the difference between them was the size of the aerial force that would be used. Each of us solved things in his own cockpit, after dilemmas and misgivings. Capt Davis stressed that the US had taken "extraordinary measures" to avoid civilian casualties and that planners "took precautions to minimise risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield". [7] The same elite that had governed Syria during the mandate continued in power, and they ruled in the same manner. If the IDF had to prepare for the pessimistic scenario of Assad retaliating massively and a war breaking out how could that be accomplished without preparing the units in advance, thereby revealing the secret and enabling the Syrians to prepare to thwart the bombing of the reactor? On 9 March the NCRC released Lu'ay al-Atassi from jail, promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general, appointed him commander-in-chief and NCRC chairman, the de facto head of state. Eight planes would be allocated to the mission four F-15I "Raam" (Thunder) and four F-16I "Sufa" (Storm) carrying 16 tonnes of bombs. The following afternoon, the Syrian news agency issued a laconic statement to the effect that during the night its air defense system had chased away Israeli planes that had penetrated Syrias air space. He had been killed in 2008 in Damascus while leaving a reception at the Iranian embassy. It was the prime minister at that time, Menachem Begin, who established the doctrine whereby Israel will not allow any of its foes in the Middle East to develop nuclear weapons. We were able to say with certainty: This reactor is intended to produce plutonium and for military purposes only, says Yadlin. Nevertheless, the Arab states were not prepared to coexist with a project which seemed likely to make a major contribution to Israel's economic growth. Subscribe here for top stories and breaking news straight to your inbox. [4] Agricultural revenues were highly skewed the top two percent of the population received 50 percent of the income, while the middle class (merchants or middle landowning groups), which was 18 percent of the population, earned 25 percent of agricultural revenues. This is very serious.. In mid-August, Olmert convened a dramatic cabinet meeting to discuss the implications of the attack. USS Shamal (PC-13) is the thirteenth Cyclone -class patrol ship. The military committee did not look favourably on the civilian leadership led by Michel Aflaq, objecting to his dissolution of the Ba'ath Party during the UAR years. While Aflaq needed the military committee to seize power, the committee needed Aflaq to hold on power without Aflaq they would have no support base. The military committee decided it had to capture al-Kiswah and Qatana, two military camps, seize control of the 70th Armoured Brigade at al-Kiswah, the Military Academy in the city of Homs and the Damascus radio station. Alongside the urgent necessity of removing the surprising new threat in Syria, Olmert was keen to mend the flaws revealed in his functioning in Lebanon as well as the publics impression of him. Covering about 10 sq km (4 sq miles), it has two 3km-long (2 mile) runways, as well as dozens of hangars, buildings and storage facilities. The Committee's virtual ousting of al-Hariri was to the chagrin of al-Bitar, who viewed al-Hariri as the last military counterweight able to check the Committee's domination over his government. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Trevelyan relative 'would consider' famine payment, Four dead after suspected pigeon racer dispute, Ding becomes China's first male world chess champion, UK chip giant Arm files for blockbuster share sale, Adidas sued by investors over Kanye West deal, US principal visits David sculpture after nudity row. Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said Shayrat airbase was used to store chemical weapons, and that US intelligence assessed that aircraft from there had dropped bombs filled with a nerve agent on Khan Sheikhoun, killing more than 80 people. An extensive process of preparation got underway in the IDF. The US carried out additional airstrikes targeting enemy positions and rocket launchers near Deir ez-Zor in northeast Syria following a rocket attack on coalition bases Barak, in a conversation with Haaretz, rejects the claims against him outright. WebA U.S. service member suffered a concussion injury from Monday's attack by the terrorist group al-Shabab at a U.S. military airfield in Somalia, according to U.S. Africa Command On Tuesday, US military radar systems monitored a Syrian Air Force fixed-wing aircraft take off from Shayrat and fly over Khan Sheikhoun on two occasions - at 06:37 local time (03:37 GMT) and 06:46. The new defense minister believed that before any attack on the reactor, the IDF had to be 98 percent prepared, not 80 percent., With the approach of summer, temperatures inside the conference rooms also rose. Its a very long flight, secret, on a dark night and a low altitude of 100 meters above sea level. His chief of staff, Yoram Turbovich, in a state of total euphoria, said to Olmert: You can resign now. To hear opinions from individuals beyond the heads of the military and the intelligence communities, Olmert consulted (as did then-Defense Minister Amir Peretz, separately) other experienced people and external oversight teams. This small and secret coterie headed by Suleiman was directly subordinate to the president; in Israel it was called the shadow army.. We made certain five times that it was all systems go., Even today, he remembers the moment of impact. Today that same Soleimani commands Irans military moves in the Middle East, including the basing of the Shiite militias in southern Lebanon, the next front where Israel is likely to find itself acing Syria and Iran. The potentially hostile unit stationed in Qatana, south-west of Damascus, did not intervene probably because Widad Bashir had taken control over communications in the Damascus area. The first indication of the Syrian regimes interest in purchasing nuclear research facilities came to the notice of Israel and the Western countries in the late 1990s, toward the end of the elder Assads rule. We had hundreds of miles to fly, some of them in an area full of missiles. [1] The issue of water sharing from the JordanYarmuk system turned out to be a major problem between Israel, Syria and Jordan. Shayrat airbase was the target of the US' first deliberate direct attack on Syrian forces since the start of the war six years ago. The then-newly appointed chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, found an army that was depressed and mired in a deep crisis after some of its top brass had resigned, while others were still fighting the conclusions of the internal investigations and on edge about what might be said about them in the final report on the Second Lebanon War. In January 2007, a pipeline leading from the Cube to the Euphrates was identified in satellite photos. While Atassi and Hariri held powerful posts, they did not possess enough personal or political power to threaten the NCRC. The Nasserist officers were also given notable offices with Muhammad al-Sufi becoming Minister of Defence and Rashid al-Qutayni becoming deputy chief of staff. At a distant and isolated site called Al Kibar, less than a kilometer west of the Euphrates River, the Cube aroused their interest in particular. The Syrian branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was able to recruit youth from radical peasant movements and thus was able to mobilise large sectors of the population. When he turned on the ignition of his jeep, it blew up. He did not revise his opinion when they sat together in sensitive deliberations in the cabinet and in smaller forums. Mostly it went according to plan, but not everything. They put on the table an intelligence finding of the type rarely encountered in this country. Israel has fired several missiles at Syrias border province of Quneitra, causing material damage. Israel completed its National Water Carrier project, which siphoned water from the Sea of Galilee in 1964. We had a number of kinds of weapons, a mix that wouldnt leave you with a single malfunction point without the ability to compensate for it. Its only rarely that a Mossad chief calls and says: I have to see you. The Mossad chief arrives and sits in my office. On July 13, Bush informed Olmert in a conversation over the direct and secure red phone line between the White House and the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem that he opposed a military attack on the reactor. Amos Yadlin. Accordingly, the Arab states have to prepare the plans necessary for dealing with the political, economic and social aspects, so that if necessary results are not achieved, collective Arab military preparations, when they are not completed, will constitute the ultimate practical means for the final liquidation of Israel.[5]. [19], In 1962, the military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party spent most of its time planning to take power through a conventional military coup. [2], Small scale water-related skirmishes had occurred following the 1949 agreements. An analysis of the operational possibilities for destroying the reactor, gradually led Israel to a realization that would ultimately guide the decision on the method of action that would be used. Everything goes according to the advance briefing. Olmert conducted himself in this affair with courage and skill and did not shy away from making decisions. The group was successful, and they promised al-Hariri that "If we succeed, you can become chief of staff. The target gets covered in smoke and afterwards you see that it has been demolished. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Barak tried to block approval of the operation and Olmert read out arguments from a piece of paper like a lawyer arguing in court, for the record. You have done your bit for the people of Israel.. Why now? Then, he in fact presented opposite arguments: Suddenly there wasnt a problem in rushing to bomb, even though an attack in Iran was a far greater challenge than bombing in Syria. Before successful strike, Israel's most resounding intel failure. He was waiting for us outside the plane as we landed, with hugs. A major escalation took place in 1964 when Israel declared it would regard the Diversion Project as an infringement on its sovereign rights. [24], On 8 February 1963, the Iraqi Regional Branch, led by Ali Salih al-Sa'di, took power in Iraq by overthrowing Abd al-Karim Qasim. [11] However, the Ba'ath Party was not a purely middle-class party, and from the very beginning, it sent party cadres to rural areas to recruit new members and form new party organisations. The traditional elite that took power in Syria when the country gained independence had come to power during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. This was a breathtaking drama, and unfortunately it played out in front of the top military commanders.. [d], Later, on 19 June, Chief of Staff al-Hariri led a high-ranking delegation that included Prime Minister al-Bitar, Aflaq and Education Minister Sami Droubi to Algeria for a state visit. Gradually, it became clear that there were three competing approaches within the administration, and that the president was trying to choose among them. Olmert, according to Barak, tended to act almost automatically, without due consideration. In January 1964 an Arab League summit meeting convened in Cairo and decided: The establishment of Israel is the basic threat that the Arab nation in its entirety has agreed to forestall. Shallal is situated nearby to Kur Udani and Ranhebas. The prevailing conspiracy theory held that Barak was waiting for the final version of the Winograd commission investigative report on the second Lebanon war, which was to be published within a few months, in the expectation that the commission would obligate Olmert to resign. Despite the shadow of failure in Lebanon, if all these claims are true, the Olmert administration demonstrated an aggressive and particularly active line against the nuclear threat and against the threats of terrorism and guerrilla warfare in neighboring countries. Trump: "Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children". The 20-page document was distributed to top defense officials. The intelligence people say they told him: There are no more question marks. Israel and the West, he said, would lose the element of surprise. [18] The military, which in many countries is conservative and elitist, became radicalised in Syria because the military wanted greater power, believing that the traditional elite was unable to defend the country. And that is after the missiles we had absorbed in the Lebanon War and even before we had an interception system like Iron Dome. The spokesman also described the effectiveness of the US strike as "extremely low", saying only 23 missiles had reached Shayrat. In the meantime, Shkedi went to the Hatzerim and Ramon air bases to talk with the crews that would take part in the operation and to reveal the real target to most of them. The operation was approved unanimously and at the armys recommendation the limited air attack option was chosen. The U.S. military covered up 2019 airstrikes in Syria that killed up to 64 women and children, a possible war crime, during the battle against Islamic State, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The explanation that was offered was concern about the possibility of hostilities breaking out over mutual miscalculations: Israel and Syria are suspicious of each other and exchanging threats in the context of the results of the last war in Lebanon. Come to think of it the court of history. The process, say many, was very organized, strictly by the book and a paragon of order by Israeli standards. The material left no room for doubt: The plutogenic reactor that Y. had written about did indeed exist it had been found in the heart of the desert and was in advanced stages of construction, and nearing completion. A large, cubical building that was still under construction in the heart of the Syrian desert, not far from Deir al-Zour, was a focus of the Israeli defense establishment starting from the end of 2006. [33][note 2] The purges resulted in the culmination of neo-Ba'athist transformation of Syrian military, which became mostly stripped of Sunni officers and packed with loyalist Alawite officers. He succeeded in persuading Bush to halt the diplomatic move and to commit to preventing leaks. Amir, one of the F-15 pilots who took part in the attack, was dual: to advance the operation without most of the crews knowing what it was about and at the same time to prepare the rest of the squadron for the possibility that as a result of the operation, hostilities might break out, and all this while this group was not privy to preparations for the attack itself. We were flying in a hostile area. Secondly, it caused huge embarrassment vis--vis Turkey, which at the time was a country friendly to Israel, even though Recep Tayyip Erdogan was already serving as prime minister. I meet with him as a matter of course. On 17 April a new stage-based unity agreement was reached that would include the three states in a federal union with Nasser as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. WebAluf Benn. The operation was the finest hour of a prime minister who just a year earlier had led Israel into a failed war in Lebanon and who less than two years later would be compelled to resign before going on to serve a prison term for crimes of corruption. Rubble was scattered around the building and the place looked fairly neglected, perhaps intentionally so. It was then 2:00 A.M. on Wednesday. Assad was given the task of reporting to other units that the coup had been postponed to 8 March. Cheney, as usual the rapacious hawk, wanted the United States to attack and destroy the reactor as a public and deterrent message, a warning against the development of additional secret nuclear programs in other countries. Mapcarta, the open map. However, said the president, he had decided to send an envoy to Syria to pose an ultimatum to Assad to demolish the reactor, under international supervision. A similar possibility regarding Syria was also considered during those years at the research branch of Military Intelligence. The prime minister chose to ignore this suggestion. The picture was stolen from the laptop of the director of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. The military's introduction to the Syrian political scene destroyed the oligarchy enabling the middle class to participate in Syrian politics. The odds were low but they did exist. Barak, however, began raising reservations. The Haaretz investigation of the bombing of the nuclear reactor is based on conversations with 25 of the individuals who were involved in the operation and in the events connected to it, in Israel and in the United States.
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