Barak also thought an attack could embroil Israel in a war with Syria, in which it would again become clear that the IDF and the home front were not properly prepared. That was marked as a point of no return, because an attack on a hot reactor was liable to cause tremendous environmental damage. 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. [29] Assad became the de facto head of the Syrian Air Force, a dizzying promotion for a man in his thirties. Olmert consulted, individually, three of the previous prime ministers: Shimon Peres (who a few months later was elected president of Israel), leader of the opposition Benjamin Netanyahu and citizen Ehud Barak. The majority of Syrians continued to see themselves as Arabs rather than Syrians. 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. Shortly thereafter Olmert phoned call President Bush, who was on a visit to Australia that week. Uranium fuel rods. [5] The landownerpeasant alliance was based on class differences, and social antagonism between each other this would lead to the landowner's downfall. Webfacility destroyed. We were very focused on the escape route because it could elicit surprises.. You have done your bit for the people of Israel.. In July 1953, Israel began construction of an intake for its National Water Carrier at the Daughters of Jacob Jordan Bridge in the demilitarized zone north of the Sea of Galilee. Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using a "de-confliction line" set up to ensure US warplanes attacking IS positions in Syria are not accidentally attacked by Russian jets, he added. Mughniyeh was in the know about the most top-secret missions of Hezbollahs patrons, Iran and Syria. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. bombing of shallal Eco-bois [43] They were released exactly a year later and exiled,[44] after lobbying by Nasser and Iraqi President Abdul Salam Arif. While they failed to approve it politically, they nevertheless seemed determined to adhere to the technical details of the agreement. The operation was approved unanimously and at the armys recommendation the limited air attack option was chosen. [36] While al-Hariri was away, the Committee used the opportunity to undertake a purge of about 30 elite officersmostly political independentsunder al-Hariri's command. Shkedi, a man of profound historical awareness, went up to Olmert at the end of the meeting and said to him: Mr. [19] The new middle class alone could only produce instability, but together with the peasantry, the revolution became possible. The technology experts at MI located the plans of the British original. Syria The squadrons to which the mission was assigned were brought into the picture during the month of June, and only in a limited way. WebUSS Shamal. 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. It was decided to attack but to authorize a small forum the trio of Olmert, Barak and Livni to decide upon the timing of the attack and the nature of the operation. It was an extraordinary process, at the end of which the reactor was destroyed., Ido Nechushtan believes that this is the kind of problem that its important for Israel to know how to solve on its own. The company's analysts said the work and the presence of newly deployed helicopters suggested the base was gaining importance for the Syrian government and Russia as they sought to counter jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) in Homs province. 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. A similar possibility regarding Syria was also considered during those years at the research branch of Military Intelligence. [37], The Nasserists still maintained a relatively high level of strength in the military, despite the purges, and on 18 July, under the leadership of Jassem Alwan and the help of Egyptian intelligence, they attempted to launch a daytime coup against the new government. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was recommending a diplomatic move to thwart the reactor by means of applying pressure on Assad. The spokesman also described the effectiveness of the US strike as "extremely low", saying only 23 missiles had reached Shayrat. The coup was originally planned for 7 March, but was postponed one day after the government discovered where the conspirators were planning to assemble. And then you get to the target area, climb a bit higher, pulling into execution mode. In one plane, a problem was solved, after [it had become clear that] not all the systems were working. However, Israel began to pay serious attention to that inclination only after the discovery of a serious intelligence gap in another country: Libya. 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. However, the Military Committee, which had expanded its membership with five new members[note 1], ensured that the Ba'athists controlled the real levers of powers. She is familiar with this.. It was in fact his comments that pushed the IDF to present alternative plans, one of which was ultimately the one that was carried out. In the course of the examination, the researchers identified the Cube. [23], While it planned the coup, the military committee and its members were frowned upon by civilian Ba'athists. Israel has fired several missiles at Syrias border province of Quneitra, causing material damage. On Tuesday, September 4, the air force conducted its last mock maneuver in advance of the attack. 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. [30], Pressure from consistent pro-Nasser demonstrations in northern Syria and Damascus and from pro-union Ba'athist leaders like Jamal al-Atassi, the Nasserists and the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), coupled with the weakness of the Ba'athists at the popular level in Syria, led to unification efforts between the new government and the governments of Egypt and Iraq. Syria The military committee's alliance with the Nasserists led to the establishment of secret contact with Colonel Rashid al-Qutayni, the head of the military intelligence, and Colonel Muhammad al-Sufi, the commander of the Homs Brigade. Sources told the Guardian newspaper that US intelligence officials believed Russian personnel were at Shayrat "when Sarin was loaded on to a Syrian jet", but that "they have not established whether the Russians knew it was happening". Othmans negligence turned out to be the worst security offense in the history of Syria. The planning and the unfolding conspiracy was inspired by the Iraqi Regional Branch's successful military coup. Olmerts behavior toward top people in the defense establishment seemed too folksy to him too much hugging and backslapping, not enough considered judgment. WebDAMASCUS, Syria Two bombs attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops exploded in Damascus during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing 14 people and wounding Shallal is situated nearby to Kur Udani and Ranhebas. A turning point in Israel's history Before successful strike, Israel's most resounding intel failure. Everything happens within a few seconds. The Alawites, the Druzes and the Isma'ilis for instance, were religious groups with low social class who began to embrace a radical form of Arab nationalism, e.g. I said to him: The air force did what it was assigned to do., The prime minister celebrated the achievement by raising a toast. Amos Yadlin. According to the plan, upon hitting the target, all the planes were required to report to the others over the communications network. The leader of Islamic State and one of the worlds most wanted men has been killed during an overnight raid in Syria by US special forces.. Hezbollah accused Israel of the hit, but Israel never officially responded. US bases in north-east Syria have come under attack before, with the US responding with air strikes. As the months went by, the suspicion grew that beneath the broad roof of the building hid President Bashar Assads secret flagship project: a nuclear reactor produced in North Korea, intended to provide the younger Assad with the achievement that had eluded his father, Hafez Assad, on the battlefield and between wars and to lead toward a point of strategic balance that could cancel out Israels clear military and technological advantage. In the force they were worried about a series of possible complications during the attack, ranging from the presence of a concealed battery of anti-aircraft guns in the area of the reactor to the concern that it was not possible to determine with certainty that the reactor would be destroyed in a single sortie, so that a second one, immediately following the first, might be needed to complete the mission, this time under more complicated circumstances, in which the aim of the operation had already been revealed to the Syrians. In the underground hangar that our plane returned to, Brig. The first research breakthrough occurred in November 2006. WebA U.S. official told ABC News that there were two new attacks late Friday on two U.S. facilities in Deir ez-Zor Province in eastern Syria after another one earlier in the day and Summary. You dont see what is happening inside. The scheme was only marginally feasible, as it was technically difficult and expensive. 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. Syrian Nuclear Reactor Strike: Battle of the Memoirs, U.S. intelligence's presentation about the Syrian nuclear reactor. [18], The growth of the new middle class in Syria fueled discontent since the traditional elite dominated the agrarian sector the largest sector of the economy and created most of the wealth. The silence on the Israeli side, which overall was maintained in accordance with the advance planning, helped reduce the sense of humiliation felt by the Syrian president and gave credence to his range of plausible deniability. [26] Captain Salim Hatum, a party officer, seized the radio station. For the coup to be successful, the military committee needed to gain the support of some of the Syrian officer corps. The picture was stolen from the laptop of the director of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. Olmert had to take into account a reaction that was liable to include direct hits on civilian and military infrastructures, from northern Israel to the Tel Aviv area. There were no political considerations behind his recommendations. The prime minister was imbued with a sense of urgency and a desire to act. Localities. American service member injured in al-Shabab attack in Somalia: While no group immediately claimed responsibility for The Syrian conflict began unfolding 11 years ago, in early March 2011. In Washington the Israeli delegation met with Vice President Dick Cheney and top people in the CIA and the National Security Council. The plebeian character of the struggle and the radical ideologies spawned radical solutions to the agrarian problem. 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. I said to them: You are going to do something of incredible significance. This is very serious.. The prime minister dwelled in particular on the meaning of life in Israel under the shadow of a nuclear threat and warned that this was a condition that was liable to cause profound demoralization of Israels populace. A number of those who were present later observed that, as one of them put it, Gideon Frank, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, blanched and nearly fainted. Gen. Shelly Gutman, the commander of the Hatzerim base, was waiting. At the same time, Israel increasingly began bombing targets in Syria said to belong to Iran-linked militias, including Hezbollah. And since the existence of Israel is a danger that threatens the Arab nation, the diversion of the Jordan waters by it multiplies the dangers to Arab existence. [42] Nasser also announced his withdrawal from the 17 April unity agreement.[40][42]. Y. reached the conclusion that they were looking in the wrong place. Akram al-Hawrani founded the Arab Socialist Party (ASP) in 1953 the Ba'ath Party was established through a merger of the ASP and the Arab Ba'ath Party. Many of the people involved in the action deserve to get credit and also demand it, said one person who played a key role in planning the operation. According to the report, Ibrahim Othman, head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, had come to Austria to participate in the deliberations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 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. Shelly said to us: You are champions.. In January 2007, a pipeline leading from the Cube to the Euphrates was identified in satellite photos. This was a breathtaking drama, and unfortunately it played out in front of the top military commanders.. 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". This system created a class society reflecting urban-rural living patterns. Why is Israel bombing Syrian airports? | Conflict News | Al Jazeera Subscribe here for top stories and breaking news straight to your inbox. Come to think of it the court of history. Bus bombs kill 14 in Syria capital; shells elsewhere kill 10 All his arguments, he says, were to the point. Baraks behavior, says one of the top defense people, was simply deplorable, Especially taking into account the disagreement about bombing the nuclear sites in Iran, which erupted two years later. His chief of staff, Yoram Turbovich, in a state of total euphoria, said to Olmert: You can resign now. Attacking a hot reactor was liable to create tremendous environmental pollution. Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. An estimated three thousand families owned half of the land in Syria. 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. Russia launches pre-dawn missile attack on Ukraine, Chaos at port as thousands rush to leave Sudan. Suddenly a moment comes when all the theoretical discussions become the here and now, and it could be that this will lead to a war, she relates. Each of us solved things in his own cockpit, after dilemmas and misgivings. In mid-June, Olmert arrived in the United States for a meeting with Bush. We set out around 10:30 P.M., recalls Amir. The greatest challenge, relates Col. For combat pilots to hear a thing like that it is completely contrary to their intuition and ethos.. The Bombing of Shallal occurred on 23 January 1965 during the War over Water when the Israeli Air Force bombed the Syrian water pumping station at Olmert was a very unpopular prime minister. On 9 March, the NCRC ordered Salah al-Din al-Bitar, one of the Ba'ath Party founders, to form a government, and to implement the policies of the NCRC. The Syrian reactor, before and after the Israeli strike. Mass pro-union rioting in Aleppo, Damascus, Hama and other parts of the country followed. The two spoke, at Olmerts request, on a secure line. 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. The new middle class consisted of capitalists and entrepreneurs who opposed the traditional elite the monopolisation of power by the traditional elite led to the radicalisation of the new middle-class. People realized that there was something bigger here. Between June and September, the operational planning became more detailed, additional precise information about the destination came in, different methods of action were assembled and finally the crews were slotted into the operation. [41] President Lu'ay al-Atassi subsequently resigned, signalling his disapproval of the executions. [10] Of the 150 delegates to the founding congress of the Arab Ba'ath Party in 1947, the majority were either middle-class professionals or intellectuals. 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. The second option that was ultimately accepted, was sketched by the air force commander on a paper napkin in a brief conversation with the prime minister. By then, Mughniyeh was dead. There, his deputy had already convened the men of the General Staff. 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. And it was also the start of the intense hostility between that prime minister and his defense minister, which took root during that summer of 2007, and of the impassioned war over who among the top brass in the military organizations deserved the credit. 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. The lack of immediate response from the regime reinforced the prior intelligence hypothesis that Syria would show restraint following the attack. In mid-August, Olmert convened a dramatic cabinet meeting to discuss the implications of the attack. [1] The coup was met by indifference in the population at large. The external imposition of arbitrary state boundaries on Syria with no corresponding popular acceptance led to discontent. The prime minister warned the American president that setting the diplomatic channel in motion would make it possible for the Syrians to play for time in the talks while hastening the completion of the construction of the reactor. Overthrow of Syrian Prime Minister Nazim al-Kudsi by the Ba'ath Party, The Nasserist cabinet members who resigned were Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister, National Council for the Revolutionary Command, Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party, List of modern conflicts in the Middle East, Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut 1963, 19471948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, Incapacitation of the Allied Control Council, On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, North Yemen-South Yemen Border conflict of 1972, Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union, 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, List of Eastern Bloc agents in the United States, American espionage in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, United States involvement in regime change, Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine, Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017present), Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in northern Iraq, General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries, National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria, Background and causes of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian government reactions to the Syrian civil war, Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian civil war, Cities and towns during the Syrian civil war, Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war, Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017present), Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war, Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war, Civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, Early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war, International reactions to the Syrian civil war, Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war, Relations between Syrian government and Kurdish groups in Syria, Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (20122013), Rif Dimashq offensive (Nov 2012Feb 2013), Battle of Tell Hamis and Tell Brak (DecJan), East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (AprMay), September Urum al-Kubra aid convoy attack, Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate, Syrian Liberation FrontTahrir al-Sham conflict, Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Syria Region, National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, International demonstrations and protests, First Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal, Second Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal, Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, International recognition of the Syrian National Council, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1963_Syrian_coup_d%27tat&oldid=1147881169, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Attempts to establish a federal Arab union with, Purges within the military and Alawitization of, This page was last edited on 2 April 2023, at 19:43. The weather along the way surprised us in a number of places. Dagan assigned us the task of finding out whether or not there was a nuclear project, says Rami Ben-Barak, a senior Mossad official at that time. [8][9] The Arab countries eventually abandoned their project. When Assad's forces reached the outskirts of the base, it was broad daylight. Ba'athism. The year before, he commanded the mission to kidnap two Israeli army reservists on the northern Israeli border near Zarit that triggered the Second Lebanon War. Moreover, this time careful attention was paid to the procedures of the discussions and decision-making, for the neglect of which Olmert was severely chastised in the interim report. We had hundreds of miles to fly, some of them in an area full of missiles. There is no reason for anyone to be in this area except for herdsmen. The official Sana news agency reported that nine civilians living in villages near the airbase, including four children, had also been killed in the strike. The Ministry of Defence headquarters were seized without a fight, and General Zahr al-Din, the commander-in-chief, was put under arrest. Wikipedia Each plane drops two bombs. Israel fires missiles on border positions inside Syria What actually is/was 'Shallal'? I can't find mention of it anywhere. [13], The Ba'ath Party faced a significant dilemma: take power through competitive elections or forceful takeover. "[23] Al-Hariri supported the committee because Khalid al-Azm, the Prime Minister of Syria, was planning to demote him. These are discussions that none of the participants will ever forget, says one of the cabinet ministers. Only now, more than a decade later, has the military censor allowed the Israeli media to report the history of this affair and even that, still with restrictions. There is a brief moment when you feel excellent, because you have achieved what was required and then you are very vigilant. Barak, in a conversation with Haaretz, rejects the claims against him outright. The committee decided state policies before the sessions of the NCRC, and by doing so became the real seat of power. This isnt about bunkers with centrifuges 1,500 kilometers [more than 900 miles] away. Several branches had not followed orders and had not dissolved during the UAR years. Before successful strike, Israel's most resounding intel failure. Western intelligence sources told the Washington Post in 2015 that General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had been with Mughniyeh in Damascus that night, but somehow he did not die in the blast that killed the Lebanese terrorist. This became a source of outcry across Syria and numerous intellectuals began highlighting the new regime's sectarian character through media outlets and publications. Why Now? 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. 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. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? Shayrat airbase was the target of the US' first deliberate direct attack on Syrian forces since the start of the war six years ago. [1] [2] References ^ "Top Syrian general declares defection on Al Arabiya". In mid-June the former prime minister won the primary for Labor Party leadership, replacing Peretz in that position, and he announced that he himself would be the new defense minister. Some of them heard for the first time about the presence of the reactor in Syria. I looked at them. There was a crazy high all around him, said one of those who were present. As in Mughniyehs case, Israel was accused of the killing but Jerusalem never officially responded. Mapcarta, the open map. The PM hoped that the U.S. would take it upon itself to destroy the reactor. The detailed intelligence helped convince those countries of the justice of the Israeli move and neutralized the possibility that the attack would become the cause of an international scandal. Its a story that ended well, says Amos Yadlin. WebAluf Benn. [3], The mandate was feudal in character, and it rested on a semi-liberal oligarchic social base. [7]. [4] Though the Unified Plan failed to be ratified, both Jordan and Israel undertook to operate within their allocation limits. The conflict in Syria is often referred to as a civil war, meaning a conflict between citizens of the same country. 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? Is climate change killing Australian wine? The air force dubbed the plan with the code name Soft Melody (the general staff operation had a different code name, Ein Habasor, while at Military Intelligence they referred to the preparations as Outside the Box). US military officials told NBC News that the radar systems picked up flashes on the ground, indicating that ordnance had been dropped on the rebel-held town. The tank landed on the Turkish side of the Syrian-Turkish border, creating two problems: First, the incident, and the photos of the tank with Hebrew writing on it, were evidence that an Israeli force had been in the area. 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. As head of the Bureau of Officers' Affairs, Jadid appointed friends to senior positions, purged his enemies and appointed several Ba'athists to senior positions. 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.
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