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The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy

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This book proved to be very interesting when I started reading it.It gives you a very good inside look of how Israel was able to obtain the atomic.Seymour Hersh shows how Israel dealt with the United States,South Africa,and Iran to obtain the technology
and materials to become a nuclear power. You are shown the spy activities that were used by Israel to make this a sucessful effort.This book leaves little to the imagination.This is a good history of the nuclear movement in Israel.Read this book,you
will enjoy it.

As is necessary for a subject as shrouded in secrecy, the author must do a considerable amount of detective work in order to arrive at a deep understanding. "The Samson Option" is exemplary in this style of book. Written like a detective story and with not a page lacking suspense, this book rivals any of the best Sherlock Holmes or the best modern-day thrillers. Yet, this is no fiction! It is apparent from the thorough notes that the author hasn't spared an ounce of meticulous research about such an important topic as nuclear weaponry. In it we learn about espionage tales, about cold war alliances, and about nuclear blackmail. Does Israel have nuclear weapons? If so how did they obtain them? What is the United States position on this, and why does it matter? Who funded the Israeli bomb? "The Samson Option" answers all these questions and many more, but in the process generates many more questions and mysteries that remain to be solved. Truly thought-provoking and enjoyable reading!

This book tells how Israel became a secret nuclear power during the cold-war with the help of the U.S. "It also tells how that secret was shared sanction and at times, willfully ignored by the top political and military officials of the U.S since the Eisenhower years" (author's note). Hypocrisy aside, the author recalls the events that shaped the Israeli program, though he never strays far from U.S. interests and involvement. In his opinion, the Israli nuclear program could not have existed without the continuous aid of the U.S. He also pays attention to the political climate between the two allies, and how different presidents could effect the balance of information flowing between Israel and the U.S.

There is no more timely topic in international nuclear proliferation today (May 2005) than the capability of North Korea, Iran, Pakistan and India to produce nuclear weapons. How did we get here? Seymour Hersh has written to blue print for how the nuclear powers - US, USSR, England, France and China - looked the other way while a nation "went nuclear". That nation was Israel. When Hersh published "The Samson Option" in 1991, he had tied together 30 years of speculation, leaked intelligence and flawed policy statements and positions into a cogent and understandable treatise on Israel's nuclear capabilities.
This book is also an eye-opener in how American presidents, from John Kennedy to George Herbert Walker Bush, decided to see only what they wanted to see with Israel's nuclear weaponization. The ultimate example of American politicians' hypocritical, double-dealing and deceitful treatment of Israel's capabilities resided in Lyndon Johnson. While assuring the US of doing everything to stop nuclear proliferation he was taking political donations and dispensing favors to the major Jewish supporters in the US of Israel's weapons facilities. The sad truth, is that like the Irish Republican Army, the greatest private donors to the development of Israel's nuclear bombs were private American citizens.
This book is as fresh and enlightening today as it was when first published in 1991. Find a copy and read it if you want to get an idea of how we may be dealing with India, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea today.

"The Samson Option" is a detailed investigation into how Israel acquired nuclear weapons technology and ultimately, nuclear weapons.
The Israeli partnership with the French and later on South Africa on development of those weapons are examined along with some of the scientists involved.

The Pollard spy case is the subject of one chapter in the book.

The relationship with Israel from an American foreign policy standpoint of administrations stretching from Eisenhower to Bush Sr. is examined. Not all U.S presidents had the same view of Israel's nuclear pursuit. None were willing to admit knowledge of the program or address it publicly. It was considered better to be insulated from the issue or at least ignorant of it.

The Israeli lobby and it's financial contributions to presidents from Truman on was discussed. LBJ was definitely not adverse to accepting private,personal cash contributions from anyone.

Mr. Hersh mentions a subject that very few authors or pundits will mention-the Israeli Air Force attack on the U.S.S. Liberty in 1967.

Another interesting subject in "The Samson Option" is the people who privately financed the operation.
There is also a description of Israel's version of Los Alamos- they call it Dimona.

Seymour Hersh has provided yet another well-documented exercise in investigative journalism. The subject is one that is just as relevant to foreign policy today as it was when the author wrote this book. Whether you think Israel should have nuclear weapons or not, this book is THE BOOK to read on the subject!

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the tragic events on this day were primarily the result of "a failure of imagination" in the U.S. intelligence community. How so.....?

The Samson Option provides stunning insights into the abject paralysis (a failure of imagination?) within this same community and nearly throughout the U.S. government as it failed miserably to halt nuclear arms proliferation for nearly 60 years. Every loyal American with an ounce of critical thinking skills should come away from reading this book, appalled with this government's impotence at its highest levels under the leadership of both political parties.

Seymour Hersh's excellence as one of our most accomplished investigative journalists with deep penetration to insiders 'in the know' has only been reaffirmed since he wrote The Samson Option in 1991. To be sure, this is a classic piece of detective work that time has proven to be highly accurate with the perpetrator grudgingly admitting to some of its activities only when every attempt at obfuscation had failed.

This book challenges the notion of an ally, one that is lavishly treated to foreign aid, exclusive access to intelligence assets and advanced weaponry yet cannot be satiated. Rather, it brazenly goes about its practice of espionage and nuclear proliferation at the expense and peril of the United States.

As a reader with reasonable knowledge of history and current events, you will be challenged with an enigma: Can the victim be a perpetrator?

The prosecutor will present an airtight case including the confessions of the perpetrator. The defense will challenge you with irrational arguments, reinforcing the perpetrator's tautology. Your verdict will most likely be influenced by your exposure to ideology and style of education: Were you taught to believe or did you learn to think?

The stakes are remarkably high. Now, radical Christian fundamentalists are seemingly in league with the perpetrator, eager to use this arsenal against the third branch of Abrahamic religions to foment yet another in a long line of religious conflicts. This time the result may be worldwide cataclysm, the consequence of mutually attained, self-fulfilled destruction -- arrogated in the name of the Zionist state.

In all likelihood you are among the vast majority of guiltless human beings holding no malice toward the perpetrator, yet totally unable to affect the outcome of tyranny by a minority. Remember, OUR GOVERNMENT(???), charged by our Constitution to protect us has increasingly chosen to recuse itself for nearly six decades. Now it lies on the floor in a catatonic state, seemingly unwilling to engage in even an innocuous debate, fearing it will reap the wrath of the perpetrator. In the ultimate example of the tail wagging the dog, the U.S. slips deeper into division, chaos, and loss of national sovereignty.

Rub your eyes, but this is not a nightmare. And The Samson Option IS NOT a work of fiction.
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RECOMMENDED READING: Spy Trade: How Israel's Lobby Undermines America's Economy by Grant F. Smith -- The Transparent Cabal: The Neoconservative Agenda, War in the Middle East, and the National Interest of Israel -- The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy by Murray Friedman -- The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Mearsheimer and Walt -- "Israeli Surveillance of the Future Hijackers and FBI Suspects in the September 11 Attacks and Their Failure to Give Us Adequate Warning: The Need for a Public Inquiry" **a 166 PAGE REPORT** documenting foreign espionage activities surrounding 9-11, available on the Internet (although rarely in COMPLETE UNEDITED FORM **WITH 5 EXHIBITS AND 4 MAPS**).

The one thing this book points out is that no matter how close of a friend any one country claims to be with another, in the end all countries are out for themselves. I would think that government officials would know this one ancient fact, it must be a staple of foreign policy. Yet reading this book and the stumbling around the US government did you kind of wonder if maybe they were just putting their heads in the sand and hoping the issue would go away. The book details out how Israel bought, lied and stole their way to the nuclear bomb, you got to give it to them they just kept going after the goal they set. The path they took is well laid out by the author and you get a good taste for the political dealing between the US and Israel.

My only complaint with the book is that the author could have spent just a bit more time clearly explaining the fears in Israel that drove them to get the bomb. The author touches on this point but I would have liked more detail. Then again it may be difficult to truly understand their mindset given the violent history they have had over the past century. Overall I found the book to be interesting and well put together yet not overly exciting. If you are interested in this part of history or even how US / Israel politics worked in the cold war then you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for an exciting true life spy story then this is not the book for you.

Hersh is always blowing the lid off of secrets. I found this riveting. It explains Israel's nuclear secrets and position and how we looked the other way (and continue). The story of how they became a nuclear power is incredible and telling. After reading you will ask if we really want to be "friends" or if they are actually reciprocating our friendly relationship.

Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal & American Foreign Policy I was surprised with the detail and research. I wonder why the Whitehouse is not familiar with this work? Great, factual, well written, If anyone wants to do their own snooping, all the leads, names are clearly listed.
Israel is the rogue nuclear player in the middle east, no one else, this book simply states it, with foot notes. Should be required reading along with other sources. A great find! Now to do some research on the author.

As is necessary for a subject as shrouded in secrecy, the author must do a considerable amount of detective work in order to arrive at a deep understanding. "The Samson Option" is exemplary in this style of book. Written like a detective story and with not a page lacking suspense, this book rivals any of the best Sherlock Holmes or the best modern-day thrillers. Yet, this is no fiction! It is apparent from the thorough notes that the author hasn't spared an ounce of meticulous research about such an important topic as nuclear weaponry. In it we learn about espionage tales, about cold war alliances, and about nuclear blackmail. Does Israel have nuclear weapons? If so how did they obtain them? What is the United States position on this, and why does it matter? Who funded the Israeli bomb? "The Samson Option" answers all these questions and many more, but in the process generates many more questions and mysteries that remain to be solved. Truly thought-provoking and enjoyable reading!