NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Israel and weapons of mass destruction

Israel is widely believed to possess a substantial arsenal of nuclear weapons,^[1] and maintains intercontinental-range ballistic missiles to deliver them. Officially Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing nuclear weapons. The U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment has recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared chemical warfare capabilities, and an offensive biological warfare program.^[2] The Peoples Republic of China is estimated by the U.S. Government to have an arsenal of about 150 nuclear weapons as of 1999. ... The Republic of China on Taiwan denies having chemical or nuclear weapons. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... Diagram of V-2, the first ballistic missile. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. ...

Nuclear weapons

The Israeli government refuses to officially confirm or deny whether it has a nuclear weapon program. It has an unofficial but rigidly enforced policy of deliberate ambiguity, saying only that it would not be the first to "introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East".^[3] In the late 1960s, Israeli Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin informed the United States State Department, that its understanding of "introducing" such weapons meant that they would be tested and publicly declared, while merely possessing the weapons did not constitute "introducing" them.^[4] Israel is widely believed to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the other three being India, Pakistan and North Korea.^[5] The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei regards Israel as a state possessing nuclear weapons.^[6] In a December 2006 interview, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Iran aspires "to have a nuclear weapon as America, France, Israel and Russia."^[7] Olmert's office later said that the quote was taken out of context; in other parts of the interview, Olmert refused to confirm or deny Israel's nuclear weapon status.^[8] Israel was the sixth country in the world to develop nuclear weapons[2] and is one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the other three being India, Pakistan and North Korea,[3] and the International Atomic Energy... Many nations may find it to their advantage to maintain a policy of deliberate ambiguity (also known as a policy of strategic ambiguity). ... This is a list of states with nuclear weapons, sometimes called the nuclear club. ... Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Opened for signature July 1, 1968 in New York Entered into force March 5, 1970 Conditions for entry into force Ratification by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and 40 other signatory states. ... The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957. ... Mohamed ElBaradei (Arabic: Ù…ØÙ…Ø¯ Ø§Ù„Ø¨Ø±Ø§Ø¯Ø¹ÙŠ) (born June 17, 1942) is an Egyptian diplomat and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an inter-governmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations. ... The Prime Minister of Israel is the elected head of the Israeli government. ... Ehud Olmert (IPA ; Hebrew:××”×•×“ ××•×œ×ž×¨×˜; born September 30, 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel. ...

Development program

Israel first showed interest in procuring nuclear materials in 1949, when a unit of the IDF Science Corps carried out a two year geological survey of the Negev. One objective of this was to find sources of uranium.^[9] In June 1952, German-born chemist Ernst David Bergmann was appointed by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to be the first chairman of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). Also appointed head Division of Research and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Defense earlier that same year, Bergmann used the Defense unit as the "chief laboratory" of the IAEC, and during this time developed the capablity to extract uranium from the Negev and produce indigenous heavy water.^[9] Rock face in the Negev Desert near Beersheba on the way to Eilat. ... Ernst David Bergmann (1903â€“1975) was an Israeli chemist and father of the Israeli nuclear program. ... Heavy water is dideuterium oxide, or D2O or 2H2O. It is chemically the same as normal water, H2O, but the hydrogen atoms are of the heavy isotope deuterium, in which the nucleus contains a neutron in addition to the proton found in the nucleus of any hydrogen atom. ...

At this point in the mid-1950s Israel's nuclear weapons program began receiving aid from other countries. By the Suez crisis in 1956, according to the preleminary Protocol of Sèvres France agreed to help Israel build a nuclear reactor and reprocessing plant near Dimona which used natural uranium moderated by heavy water. Plutonium production started in about 1964. Top secret British documents obtained by BBC Newsnight show that Britain made hundreds of secret shipments of restricted materials to Israel in the 1950s and 1960s. These included specialist chemicals for reprocessing and samples of fissile material—uranium-235 in 1959, and plutonium in 1966, as well as highly enriched lithium-6 which is used to boost fission bombs and fuel hydrogen bombs. The investigation also showed that Britain shipped 20 tons of heavy water directly to Israel in 1959 and 1960 to start up the Dimona reactor. The transaction was made through a Norwegian front company called Noratom which took a 2% commission on the transaction. Britain was challenged about the heavy water deal at the IAEA after it was exposed on Newsnight in 2005. British Foreign Minister Kim Howells hid behind the Noratom contract and claimed this was a sale to Norway. But a former British intelligence officer who investigated the deal at the time confirmed that this was really a sale to Israel and the Noratom contract was just a charade.^[10] The Foreign Office finally admitted in March 2006 that Britain knew the destination was Israel all along.^[11] Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2... The Protocol of SÃ¨vres recorded the agreements reached between the governments of Great Britain, France and Israel during discussions held in SÃ¨vres, France between 22nd and 24th October 1956, on a joint politico-military response to Egypts nationalisation of the Suez Canal. ... Institute 2, Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), Dimona, photographed by Mordechai Vanunu The Negev Nuclear Research Center is an Israeli nuclear installation located in the Negev desert, near the city of Dimona, at . ... Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36 kilometers to the south of Beer-Sheva and 35 kilometers west of the Dead Sea in the Southern District of Israel. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ... Heavy water is dideuterium oxide, or D2O or 2H2O. It is chemically the same as normal water, H2O, but the hydrogen atoms are of the heavy isotope deuterium, in which the nucleus contains a neutron in addition to the proton found in the nucleus of any hydrogen atom. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight (244) gÂ·molâˆ’1 Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GBÂ£4 billion. ... Newsnight is a British daily news analysis, current affairs and politics programme broadcast between 22:30 and 23:20 on weekdays on BBC Two. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lithium, Li, 3 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 2, s Appearance silvery white/grey Standard atomic weight 6. ... Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36 kilometers to the south of Beer-Sheva and 35 kilometers west of the Dead Sea in the Southern District of Israel. ... Kim Scott Howells (born November 27, 1946 in Merthyr Tydfil) is a Labour politician in Wales, and member of Parliament for Pontypridd. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, seen from St. ...

In 1961, the Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion informed the Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker that a pilot plutonium-separation plant would be built at Dimona. British intelligence concluded from this and other information that this "can only mean that Israel intends to produce nuclear weapons".^[12] By 1969, U.S. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird believed that Israel might have a nuclear weapon that year.^[13]^[14] Later that year, U.S. President Richard Nixon in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir pressed Israel to "make no visible introduction of nuclear weapons or undertake a nuclear test program", so maintaining a policy of nuclear ambiguity.^[15] By 1979 U.S. Intelligence believed Israel had designs and fissile material for nuclear weapons, and were perhaps in a position so they could test a more advanced small tactical nuclear weapon or thermonuclear weapon trigger design.^[16] The Prime Minister of Israel is the elected head of the Israeli government. ... (October 16, 1886 â€“ December 1, 1973; Hebrew: ) was the first Prime Minister of Israel. ... The Prime Minister of Canada, the head of the Canadian government, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. ... John George Diefenbaker, CH, PC, QC, BA, MA, LL.B, LL.D, DCL, FRSC, FRSA, D.Litt, DSL, (18 September 1895 â€“ 16 August 1979) was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada (1957 â€“ 1963). ... The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6 (originally Military Intelligence [section] 6), or Her Majestys Secret Service or just the Secret Service, is the British external security agency. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... Melvin Robert Laird (born September 1, 1922) was a Republican congressman from Wisconsin who served as Richard Nixons Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 â€“ April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Golda Meir (â€Ž, born Golda Mabovitz, May 3, 1898 - December 8, 1978), also known as Golda Myerson from 1917-1956, was one of the founders of the State of Israel. ... Logo used on the Intelligence Community web site. ... American scientists examine a mockup of a W48 155-millimeter nuclear shell, a very small tactical nuclear weapon. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ...

The first public revelation of Israel's nuclear capability (as opposed to development program) came in the London based Sunday Times on October 5, 1986, which printed information provided by Mordechai Vanunu, formerly employed at the Negev Nuclear Research Center, a facility located in the Negev desert south of Dimona. For publication of state secrets, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for treason and espionage. Although there had been much speculation prior to Vanunu's revelations that the Dimona site was creating nuclear weapons, Vanunu's information indicated that Israel had also built thermonuclear weapons.^[17] from Hebrew Wikipedia This work is copyrighted. ... from Hebrew Wikipedia This work is copyrighted. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ... Mordechai Vanunu in the garden of St. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Mordechai Vanunu in the garden of St. ... Institute 2, Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), Dimona, photographed by Mordechai Vanunu The Negev Nuclear Research Center is an Israeli nuclear installation located in the Negev desert, near the city of Dimona, at . ... Rock face in the Negev Desert near Beersheba on the way to Eilat. ... Traitor redirects here. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ...

In 1998, former Prime Minister Shimon Peres said that Israel "built a nuclear option, not in order to have a Hiroshima but an Oslo".^[18] The "nuclear option" may refer to a nuclear weapon or to the nuclear reactor near Dimona, which Israel claims is used for scientific research. Peres, in his capacity as the Director General of the Ministry of Defense in the early 1950s, was responsible for building Israel's nuclear capability.^[19] This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ... Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993. ...

Nuclear weapons capability

According to The Nuclear Threat Initiative, based on Vanunu's information, Israel has approximately 100–200 nuclear explosive devices by 1980' and the Jericho missile delivery system. A United States Defense Intelligence Agency report (leaked and published in the book Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of America's Anti-Terrorist Commander by journalist Rowan Scarborough in 2004) puts the number of weapons at 82. U.S. intelligence sources in the late 1990s estimated 75–130,^[20]and 400 in the early 2000s according to some sources at the U.S air force intelligence^[21] or even as early as the mid 1990s.^[22] The difference might lie in the amount of material Israel has on store versus assembled weapons. The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is a an American public charity founded by Ted Turner and Sam Nunn which exists to strengthen global security by reducing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and also to reduce the risk that they will actually be used. ... Jericho is a general designation given to the Israeli medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM). ... The Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, is a major producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense. ... Rowan Scarborough is a Washington Times reporter who writes a weekly column with fellow reporter Bill Gertz called Inside the Ring. ...

Israel has operated three modern German-built Dolphin-class submarines^[23] since 1999. Various reports indicate that these submarines are equipped with American-made Harpoon missiles modified to carry small nuclear warheads^[24] and/or, and more possible^[25], larger Israeli-made "Popeye Turbo" cruise missiles, originally developed by Israel for air-to-ground strike capability.^[26] The Dolphin class is a non-nuclear type of submarine developed and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the Israeli Navy. ... USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... A Harpoon missile on display at the USS Bowfin museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii The AGM-84 Harpoon is a US all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system. ... A Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile of the Luftwaffe A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ...

No known nuclear weapons test has been conducted within Israel, although the boosted weapons shown in Vanunu's photographs may well have required testing. It is also possible that the Israelis received results from French nuclear testing in the 1960s. In June 1976, the West Germany Army magazine, Wehrtechnik, claimed that a 1963 underground test took place in the Negev, and other reports indicate that some type of non-nuclear test, perhaps a zero yield or implosion test, may have occurred on 2 November 1966.^[27] In September 1979, a Vela satellite may have detected a 3 kiloton oceanic nuclear explosion near South Africa, accompanied by underwater acoustic and ionospheric effects which may have been a joint nuclear test between Israel and South Africa (see Vela Incident and Israel-South Africa relations). The first nuclear weapons, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, provided the basic design building blocks of all future weapons. ... The German Army (German: Heer, [IPA: heÉ] ) is the land component of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces) of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Vela was the name of a group of satellites developed as the Vela Hotel element of Project Vela by the United States to monitor compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty by the Soviet Union, and other nuclear-capable states. ... An Earth observation satellite, ERS 2 In the context of spaceflight, satellites are objects which have been placed into orbit by human endeavor. ... Look up ton in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A 23 kiloton tower shot called BADGER, fired on April 18, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear test series. ... Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere The ionosphere is the uppermost part of the atmosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. ... Orthographic projection centered on the Prince Edward Islands, the location of the Vela incident The Vela Incident (sometimes known as the South Atlantic Flash) was an as-yet unidentified flash of light detected by a United States Vela satellite on September 22, 1979. ... Israel and South Africa developed a strong relationship throughout the 1970s and 1980s, although Israel joined the West in the late 1980s in boycotting South Africa before the collapse of apartheid. ...

In an interview the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to have admitted that Israel possesses nuclear weapons. However, an Israeli spokesman later stated that Olmert meant to give no such statement, and there has been no change in policy on nuclear weapons.^[28] Ehud Olmert (IPA ; Hebrew:××”×•×“ ××•×œ×ž×¨×˜; born September 30, 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel. ...

On February 1, 2007, President Chirac of France commented on the Nuclear ambitions of Iran, hinting on possible nuclear countermeasures from Israel:
Where will it drop it, this bomb? On Israel? It would not have gone 200 metres into the atmosphere before Tehran would be razed.^[29] is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Jacques RenÃ© Chirac (born 29 November 1932) is a French politician and a former President of France. ... This article is about Iran and weapons of mass destruction. ...

Timetable of Estimates of the Israeli Nuclear Arsenal

The State of Israel has never made public any details of its nuclear capability or arsenal. The following is a history of estimates by many different reputable sources on the size and strength of Israel's nuclear arsenal.

The 1967 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Six-Day War or June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. ... Combatants Israel Egypt, Syria, Jordan Iraq Commanders Moshe Dayan, David Elazar, Ariel Sharon, Shmuel Gonen, Benjamin Peled, Israel Tal, Rehavam Zeevi, Aharon Yariv, Yitzhak Hofi, Rafael Eitan, Abraham Adan, Yanush Ben Gal Saad El Shazly, Ahmad Ismail Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Aly Fahmy, Anwar Sadat, Abdel Ghani el-Gammasy, Abdul... A suitcase bomb is a bomb which uses a suitcase as its delivery method. ...

Chemical weapons

Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). There are speculations that a chemical weapons program might be located at the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona [2]. Professor Marcus Klingberg, deputy director of the institute, was sentenced in 1983 to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of the charge of being a Soviet spy. The government kept the matter secret for a decade, arguing it was a sensitive issue.^[52] Chemical Weapons Convention Opened for signature January 13, 1993 in Paris Entered into force April 29, 1997 Conditions for entry into force Ratification by 50 states and the convening of a Preparatory Commission Parties 181 (as of Oct. ... Dressing the wounded during a gas attack by Austin O. Spare, 1918. ... Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is a government defense research institute specializing in biology, medicinal chemistry and environmental science. ... Ness Ziona (× ×¡ ×¦×™×•× ×” ; unofficially also spelled Nes Ziona) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... Abraham Marcus Klingberg was born in 1918 and is the highest ranking Soviet spy ever caught in Israel. ... Soviet redirects here. ...

190 liters of dimethyl methylphosphonate, a CWC schedule 2 chemical used in the synthesis of Sarin nerve gas, was discovered in the cargo of El Al Flight 1862 after it crashed in 1992 en route to Tel Aviv. Israel insisted the material was non-toxic, was to have been used to test filters that protect against chemical weapons, and that it had been clearly listed on the cargo manifest in accordance with international regulations. The shipment was from a U.S. chemical plant to the IIBR under a U.S. Department of Commerce license.^[53] Dimethyl methylphosphonate Dimethyl methylphosphonate, or methylphosphonic acid dimethyl ester (DMMP), is a colorless liquid with chemical formula C3H9O3P or CH3PO(OCH3)2. ... Schedule 2 substances, in the sense of the Chemical Weapons Convention, are either toxic enough to be used as chemical weapons, or precursors of other listed substances. ... Sarin, also known by its NATO designation of GB (O-Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extremely toxic substance whose sole application is as a nerve agent. ... The Bijlmerramp (in English: Bijlmer disaster) was an airplane crash. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... The United States Department of Commerce is a Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. ...

In 1993, the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment WMD proliferation assessment recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared offensive chemical warfare capabilities.^[2] Former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense responsible for chemical and biological defense, Bill Richardson, said in 1998 "I have no doubt that Israel has worked on both chemical and biological offensive things for a long time ... There's no doubt they've had stuff for years".^[54] The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. ...

Biological weapons

Israel is not a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). It is assumed that the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Ness Ziona develops vaccines and antidotes for chemical and biological warfare.^[55] While it is believed that Israel is not currently producing chemical or biological weapons, there remains speculation as that Israel's ability to start production and dissemination, if necessary, remains active.^[56] Biological Weapons Convention Opened for signature April 10, 1972 at Moscow, Washington and London Entered into force March 26, 1975 Conditions for entry into force ??? Parties ??? The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (usually referred to... Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is a government defense research institute specializing in biology, medicinal chemistry and environmental science. ... Ness Ziona (× ×¡ ×¦×™×•× ×” ; unofficially also spelled Nes Ziona) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... A bottle and a syringe containing the influenza vaccine. ... An antidote is a substance which can counteract a form of poisoning. ... Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... For the use of biological agents by terrorists, see bioterrorism. ...

In 1993, the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment WMD proliferation assessment recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having an undeclared offensive biological warfare program.^[2] The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. ...

Delivery Systems

Missiles

Jericho is a general designation given to the Israeli medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM). ... Shavit (Hebrew: comet) is a launch vehicle produced by Israel. ... A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit in which objects such as satellites are below intermediate circular orbit (ICO) and far below geostationary orbit, but typically around 350 - 1400 km above the Earths surface. ...

Aircraft

Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American multirole jet fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Boeing. ... The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ...

Marine

The Dolphin class is a non-nuclear type of submarine developed and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the Israeli Navy. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ...

See also

The Samson Option is a term used to describe the strategies alleged to underlie Israels development of a nuclear arsenal. ...

External links

The New Statesman is a left-of-centre political weekly published in London. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GBÂ£4 billion. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Crick is a British journalist and author. ... Newsnight is a British daily news analysis, current affairs and politics programme broadcast between 22:30 and 23:20 on weekdays on BBC Two. ... The Federation of American Scientists (FAS)[1] is a non-profit organization formed in 1945 by scientists from the Manhattan Project who felt that scientists, engineers and other innovators had an ethical obligation to bring their knowledge and experience to bear on critical national decisions. ... The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is a an American public charity founded by Ted Turner and Sam Nunn which exists to strengthen global security by reducing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and also to reduce the risk that they will actually be used. ... Avner Cohen is writer, historian, and professor, and is well known for his works on nuclear weapons. ... Haaretz (Hebrew: (helpÂ· info), The Land) is an Israeli newspaper, founded in 1919. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan international organization on the Roster in consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. ... NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan international organization on the Roster in consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. ... This article is about the United States military building. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The Los Angeles Times (also L.A. Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

^ Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance. Arms Control Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks, U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, August 1993, OTA-ISC-559. Retrieved on 2007-05-27
^ Dawoud, Khaled. "Redefining the bomb", Al-Ahram Weekly, 1999-12-02. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Avner Cohen and William Burr, The Untold Story of Israel's Bomb, Washington Post, April 30, 2006; B01.
^ Background Information, 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. United Nations. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Mohamed ElBaradei (27 July 2004). Transcript of the Director General's Interview with Al-Ahram News. IAEA. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
^ Olmert: Iran wants nuclear weapons like Israel. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
^ Olmert Says Israel Among Nuclear Nations. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
^ ^a ^b Nuclear Weapons - Israel, Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
^ Jones, Meirion. "Britain's dirty secret", New Statesman, 2006-03-13. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Statement from the Foreign Office. Newsnight. BBC (2006-03-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Atomic Activities in Israel (PDF). UK Cabinet Submission from Joint Intelligence Bureau. Cabinet Office, Government of the United Kingdom (1961-07-17). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ "Israel crosses the threshold", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2006, pp. 22-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Stopping the introduction of nuclear weapons into the Middle East (PDF). Memorandum to the secretary of state. National Security Archive (1969-03-17). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Discussions with the Israelis on nuclear matters (PDF). Memorandum for the President. National Security Archive (1969-10-07). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ The 22 September 1979 Event (PDF). Interagency Intelligence Memorandum 5,9 (paragraphs 4,26). National Security Archive (December 1979). Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
^ "Mordechai Vanunu: The Sunday Times articles", The Times, 2004-04-21. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Peres admits to Israeli nuclear capability. Federation of American Scientists (1998-07-14). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Israel and the Bomb: Principal players. National Security Archive. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Nuclear weapons - Israel. Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ U.S. Air Force: Israel has 400 nukes, building naval force, World Tribune.com, July 4, 2002
^ Could Israel's nuclear assets survive a pre-emptive strike?, Harold Hough, Jane's Intelligence Review, 1997-09-01
^ Dolphin Class Submarines. Uri Dotan-Bochner. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Frantz, Douglas. "Israel Adds Fuel to Nuclear Dispute", Los Angeles Times, 2003-12-10. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ [1]
^ Popeye Turbo. globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ The Third Temple's holy of holies: Israel's nuclear weapons. The Counterproliferation Papers, Future Warfare Series No. 2. USAF Counterproliferation Center, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base (September 1999). Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Israel Denies Policy Change After Olmert Nuclear Arms Hint. GlobalSecurity.org (December 12, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-11. “In an interview with German television on December 11, Olmert said Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map and accused Tehran of trying to make nuclear weapons. Seeking to draw a distinction with Iran, Olmert listed Israel alongside nuclear powers the United States, France, and Russia. "Iran openly, explicitly, and publicly threatens to whip Israel off the map", Olmert said. "Can you say that this is the same level when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?" An Israeli spokesman later said Olmert did not mean to say that Israel has nuclear weapons, but instead had meant to describe America, France, Israel, and Russia as democracies, in contrast to Iran, which the spokesman described as an "extremist theological regime." Israel is widely believed to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons, but has never confirmed or denied this.”
^ Sciolino, Elaine; Katrin Bennhold (February 1, 2007). Chirac Strays From Assailing a Nuclear Iran. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
^ 150. Burrows and Windrem, op. cit., 280 and Cohen, Israel and the Bomb, op. cit., 273-274.
^ Data from Time, 12 April 1976, quoted in Weissman and Krosney, op. cit., 107.
^ Tahtinen, Dale R., The Arab-Israel Military Balance Today (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1973), 34.
^ How Israel Got the Bomb.” Time, 12 April 1976, 39.
^ Burrows and Windrem, op. cit., 302.
^ Kaku, op. cit., 66 and Hersh, op. cit., 216.
^ Valéry, op. cit., 807-09.
^ Data from CIA, quoted in Weissman and Krosney, op. cit., 109.
^ Ottenberg, Michael, “Estimating Israel's Nuclear Capabilities,” Command, 30 (October 1994), 6-8.
^ Pry, op. cit., 75.
^ Ibid., 111.
^ Data from NBC Nightly News, quoted in Milhollin, op. cit., 104 and Burrows and Windrem, op. cit., 308.
^ Data from Vanunu quoted in Milhollin, op. cit., 104.
^ Harkavy, Robert E. “After the Gulf War: The Future of the Israeli Nuclear Strategy,” The Washington Quarterly (Summer 1991), 164.
^ Burrows and Windrem, op. cit., 308.
^ Albright, David, Berkhout, Frans and Walker, William, Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium 1996. World Inventories, Capabilities, and Policies (New York: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute And Oxford University Press, 1997), 262-263.
^ Hough, Harold, “Israel's Nuclear Infrastructure,” Jane's Intelligence Review 6, no. 11 (November 1994), 508.
^ Ibid., 262-263.
^ Spector, and McDonough, with Medeiros, op. cit., 135.
^ Burrows and Windrem, op. cit., 283-284.
^ Cordesman, op. cit., 1996, 234.
^ Brower, Kenneth S., “A Propensity for Conflict: Potential Scenarios and Outcomes of War in the Middle East,” Jane's Intelligence Review, Special Report no. 14, (February 1997), 14-15.
^ Chirkin, Dmitri. "Last KGB Spy to be Released in Israel", Pravda, 2003-01-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ "Israel says El Al crash chemical 'non-toxic'", BBC, 1998-10-2. Retrieved on 2006-07-02.
^ Jeff Stein. "

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