Michael Piper and Final Judgment

[Magda Hassan]

Israel was a pissant country with a rag tag military surrounded by angry disorganised Arabs. Kennedy's concern was to limit the influence of the Soviets in the region and keep Israel there for western interests. Ultimately he was on Israel's side regardless. No need to kill friends and make un-necessary difficulties for yourself.

That's the point. As far as Ben-Gurion and his inner circle were concerned, preventing Israel from acquiring the nuclear deterrent was not the act of a friend. By the time he resigned in June 1963, Ben-Gurion didn't consider JFK a friend of Israel. He refused to read JFK's final letter to him which arrived the day he resigned.

LBJ was their friend. He showed it during the Suez crisis and he would reinforce it again when Israel attacked the USS Liberty.

And though you describe Israel as a pissant country, they still had very powerful friends and sympathisers in the US, media owners and business leaders included. They didn't like Kennedy either.

Kennedy couldn't prevent them from doing any thing. Didn't matter what he wanted. They had everything they needed. They were not dependent on the US for any of their nuclear material. They had everything from the UK, France and Norway and through their own ingenuity, beg borrow or steal, and the black market. Plus they already had the know how. Who cares who was Ben Gurion's favorite President. The US could not and did not stop Israel getting the bomb because Israel already had it and the means and material and the US was going to stand by Israel regardless. They were never going to let them be run over by the neighbouring Arab states. Because that was not in the US interests.

The Cubans wanted their Texan in the White house too. And they had good friends in the US too. They didn't kill Kennedy either even though his removal benefited them and they had a better ride with LBJ than Kennedy too and a huge influence in the US congress too.