Democratic Palestine : 11 (ص 24)
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- Democratic Palestine : 11 (ص 24)
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Boosting the morale of Arab
reactionary regimes
Another reason for the Bright Star
85 maneuvers is to reaffirm to the Arab
reactionary regimes that they can count
on US military might to protect them from
the anger of the masses, and that the US
will not leave them to their fate if they
enter into direct negotiations with ‘Is-
rael’. Of course, the Shah of Iran, Sadat
of Egypt and Numeiri of Sudan counted
on US aid too, and they all experienced
a letdown.
The maneuvers are in line with the
US and Israeli policy since the early fif-
ties, of pitting one Arab state or policy
against another, i.e. divide and rule. -
Specifically this means strengthening
the reactionary, pro-US regimes so that
they can threaten or contain any popular
movement or nationalist regime
attempting to pursue an independent
policy. The basic concept of Bright Star
is involving the forces of the reactionary
regimes in joint action with the US Rapid
Deployment Force, to be ready to strike
any anti-imperialist regime or move-
ment.
Such muscle-flexing is a basic ele-
ment in US foreign policy. The training of
the Rapid Deployment Force in the tac-
tics of military intervention reveals to
what degree the US counts on military
and political blackmail in its foreign pol-
icy. This is not a new orientation; it was -
the case under Presidents Truman and
Eisenhower; it was seen in the Baghdad
Alliance, and more recently in the policy
of Haig, Reagan and Schultz.
On the other hand, the question of
direct military intervention involves cer-
tain dilemmas and risks. The two most
recent occasions on which US. troops
have been directly interjected in the Mid-
dle East, met with dismal failure. The
mission to retrieve US hostages from
lran aborted totally. The Marines, who
came to Lebanon to bolster fascist rule
and the May 17th accord, were forced to
withdraw after many losses and failure
to impose US goals. In this context,
Bright Star 85 is another step in the US
aggressive policies, designed to fill the
gaps that were exposed by previous fai-
lures, in order to assert hegemony by
force if necessary. @
Israeli Nuclear Strategy —
Stealing Uranium
Another in a series of uranium thefts occurred recently, stunning intelligence and political circles.
According to the International Nuclear Energy Agency, ‘Israel’ illegally acquired 40 tons of nuclear grade
uranium, produced by Great Britain, via Luxembourg. («International Herald Tribune», July 11, 1985). As
an isolated case, this incident may not appear significant, but taken in the context of the Israeli strategic
nuclear program, the issue demands the attention of all anti-nuclear, peace forces.
Fil
=
During the Eisenhower Administra-
tion, an Israeli agent, Zalman Shapiro,
was assigned by the Israeli government
to build a nuclear factory in the city of
Apollo, Pennsylvania. Shapiro and his
factory, called Numec, were responsible
for secretly providing ‘Israel’ with numer-
ous shipments of saturated uranium
under various seemingly ordinary trade
agreements. Shaopiro’s role in this con-
Spiracy was_ significantly advanced
24
when then President Eisenhower
decided, under the slogan, «Atoms in
the Service of Peace», to allow Numec
to cooperate with the Westinghouse
Corporation in the production of uranium
oxide, an essential substance for the
activation of nuclear reactors, for US
nuclear submarines. It was this cover
which allowed Shapiro to produce this
rare substance and deliver it, secretly
and illegally, to ‘Israel’.
Shapiro’s operations soon became
public with the announcement that a
subsidiary of Numec, the Israeli
Radioactive Isotope Company Ltd.,
would begin operations in ‘Israel’ in
partnership with the Israeli Energy Com-
mittee, a government agency. The
openness of Shapiro's dealings
attracted attention and suspicion. US
political opposition figures forced the
American Nuclear Energy Agency to
investigate, and the results were hardly
surprising. It was discovered that 361
pounds (164 kgs) of nuclear grade
uranium, supplied by the United States
Government, were missing. Their even-
tual destiny, as then claimed, was
unknown. Shapiro rationalized the dis-
appearance, insisting that the uranium
was disposed of with radioactive waste.
However, test samples of the waste
found no traces of saturated uranium.
The investigation continued with
the suspicion that the uranium had
reached ‘Israel’. After it was discovered
that another 190 pounds (86 kgs) of
uranium had disappeared, President
Johnson ordered the Nuclear Energy
Agency to stop its investigation so as to
avoid «further complications». Soon
afterwards, Shapiro sold Numec to
avoid an international scandal, espe-
Cially in light of his illegal employment of
non-Americans, i.e. Israeli citizens who
were actually agents of Mossad (the
Israeli intelligence network).
US-Israeli nuclear cooperation
reached its climax in 1968, when 200
tons of nuclear grade uranium were.
smuggled from Belgium to ‘Israel’.
According to Ellen Davenport, Paul - هو جزء من
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