Michael Piper and Final Judgment

[Magda Hassan]

What matters is that the Israeli's knew he couldn't stop them. Their programme was already a fact of life, a reality, and needed no US inputs as they had all they needed already. Ergo, they had no reason to assassinate him because they had what they wanted and he could do nothing about it and they Israelis knew it even if Kennedy thought otherwise. Kennedy would just have to suck it up. Just as some do today.

Maybe Israel knew he couldn't stop them, but the point is they didn't want him to know . That's why they concealed the underground reprocessing plant from the inspectors. They didn't want anyone to know.

Kennedy had been badgering them for years about their nuclear intentions. They were involved in crucial negotiations with the US for the purchase of missiles and jets. They gave repeated (false) assurances to Kennedy that they would not acquire a nuclear capability.

The last thing Israel wanted was a major diplomatic confrontation with the US. That's why they kept obfuscating and putting off the comprehensive inspections Kennedy had demanded in 1963. They succeeded. There where no inspections in 1963. They barely got away with the inspection in 1962. The hosts had shortened it to a mere 45 minutes.

So they did the clever thing and kept putting him off until they could put him six feet under.

After that it was cruisy. They had their very own glove puppet in the WH. Just 2 weeks after Kennedy's death they suddenly announced to the WH they were ready to agree to another inspection. And I think LBJ helped Israel out when they had a spot of bother with the USS Liberty in 1967, didn't he?

This is all supposition on your part Mark. All fantasy. No facts. Not reflected by any known reality. Nor based in the reality of the politics of the region of the day.

The French knew it was for weapons. The US had to know as well. They are stupid but not so stupid as that. Nor are the Israelis so stupid as to assume he didn't know. Even if they don't want to put it all in writing and confirm it all. In any case the US would operate from the worst case scenario. Kennedy was no threat. They needed no permission from him. The inspections were just a show a pretence. They didn't have to do them anyway. If they said 'No" they would have lost some funding but others would have stepped in including the diaspora. And it wasn't big money in those days. That sort of money didn't roll in until after the 1967 war. Kennedy may have called them on their programme and he'd still not be able to do any thing except possibly embarrass them but they seem incapable of embarrassment. There is no way Kennedy or any US president was going to abandon them, regardless of what they do or don't do because it was in the US, and others, interest to have Israel there. And Israel knows this. They haven't complied with a single UN resolution. Why would they comply with inspections for some thing they have no intention of abandoning? They'd happily go through the motions though and Kennedy would just have to deal with it. They didn't have to put any one under. Not even close.

As for LBJ, sure they had a better ride with him. But so what? Good for them.