Raid on the Sun

by Rodger W. Claire

  “The friction between the two . . . he alone was feeling now.” Raz.

  “On Wednesday, June 3 . . . dinner that night.” McKinnon, Ivry, Yaffe.

  “The question of whether . . . And that was that.” Raz; Yaffe and his wife, Michal; Katz; Yadlin.

  “The Friday before the mission . . . ‘I hope I collect.’” Yadlin, Yaffe, Spector, Shafir, McKinnon.

  “Sunlight from the first . . . ‘God be with you.’” Raz, Spector, Ivry, McKinnon, Sella, Yadlin, Nachumi, Yaffe. Eitan’s speech was first reprinted by McKinnon in 1986.

  “The pilots suited up . . . he could have drawn.” Spector, Katz, Raz, Nachumi, Yaffe, Falk.

  SIXTY SECONDS OVER BAGHDAD

  “The brown banks of . . . in their headsets: ‘Grazen.’ ” Raz, Ivry, Yadlin, Katz, Nachumi, Spector, Shafir. The checkpoint codes were given to me by Katz and Ivry.

  “Miles behind . . . lights from a small town.” Raz, Spector, Yadlin, Katz, McKinnon.

  “Khidhir Hamza stood outside . . . all Israel, it seemed, waited.” Hamza, Yadlin, Nachumi, Yaffe.

  “As Raz began to nose . . . any pursuing MiGs.” Raz, Yadlin.

  “One of the French electricians . . . the man exclaimed, astonished.” Hamza, McKinnon, Katz, Yaffe, Nachumi, Shafir. The descriptions of the bombing runs and the targeting are based in part on voice tapes from the pilots’ helmet microphones and videotape from the F-16 nose cameras, which I was able to view. The quality of the tapes is quite good. Spector himself told me about blacking out, though he wasn’t sure what had happened. He said he just missed. Nachumi was convinced Spector experienced blackout, a not-uncommon occurrence during high-G maneuvers.

  CHECK SIX

  “Khidhir Hamza stood frozen . . . Everyone suddenly felt thirsty.” Hamza, Raz, Ivry, Nakdimon, Michal Yaffe, McKinnon, Yaffe, Katz.

  “Five hundred and eighty miles . . . across the installation.” Hamza; Time, June 15, 1981.

  “As darkness fell at Etzion . . . ever celebrate that holiday again.” Falk, Nachumi, Katz, Raz, Yadlin, Yaffe, Shafir, Ivry.

  “Richard V. Allen . . . ‘terrific piece of bombing!’” President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, Lou Cannon (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster: New York, 1991); Hersh; interview with Caspar Weinberger; interview with Richard Perle.

  “Monday morning, July 8 . . . ‘which is near Baghdad. . . .’” Katz, Raz, McKinnon.

  “That Sunday, the cavernous . . . deliver within the month.” Thomas.

  EPILOGUE: BLOWBACK

  “Monday morning, June 8 . . . ‘start from scratch.’” Hamza, Karsh.

  “The storm of indignation . . . was quietly resumed.” McKinnon, Perlmutter, Hersh; IDF website; New York Times, editorial page, June 9, 1981; Time, cover story, June 15, 1981; Cannon, Ivry.

  “Perhaps in somewhat . . . whom Hofi was referring to.” The anecdote about Begin accidentally referring to Dimona comes from Hersh.

  “The Arab nations . . . chemical weapons programs.” Thomas, Hamza.

  “On June 7, 2001 . . . signed: ‘Dick Cheney.’ ” Falk, Katz, Raz, Nachumi, Ivry.

  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.

  A

  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

  B

  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.

  C

  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

  D

  De Gaulle, Charles

  Dimona reactor; Begin’s press conference revelation

  Donovan, Jack (Ran S.)

  E

  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 r
aid; and May 10 mission cancellation; on eve of mission

  Eitan, Yoram

  Entebbe airport raid

  Etzion Air Force Base

  F

  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

  G

  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

  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

  I

  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

  J

  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

  K

  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

  L

  Lebanon Civil War

  Lewis, Samuel

  Libya, reaction to air strike

  M

  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

  N

  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

  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; acqui
sition 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

  P

  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

  Q

  Qaddafi, Muammar

  Qanbar, Entifadh

  Qassem, Abdul Karim

  R

  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

  S

  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