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US Had Emergency Plan for Attacking Israel in 1967
Posted: 2008-05-15 11:07pm
by Sidewinder
Jewish Virtual Library wrote:Just prior to the Six Day War in 1967, the United States updated an emergency plan aimed at preventing Israel from expanding its territory. In May 1967, one of the U.S. commands was charged with the task of removing the plan from the safe, refreshing it and preparing for an order to go into action. This unknown aspect of the war was revealed in what was originally a top-secret study conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses in Washington. An institute expert, L. Weinstein, wrote in February 1968 a classified document called “Critical Incident No. 14,” about the U.S. involvement in the Middle East crisis of May-June 1967. Only 30 copies of his study were printed for distribution at that time and just recently the material has been declassified.
According to Weinstein, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a cable on May 20, 1967, asking that Strike Command, the entity that was to have launched the attack on Israel (and was subsequently replaced by what is now Central Command), refresh the emergency plans for intervention in an Israeli-Arab war: one plan on behalf of Israel and the other on behalf of the Arabs. The basis for the directive was Washington’s commitment to the Israeli-Arab armistice lines of 1949. The United States would not allow Egypt or any combination of Arab states to destroy Israel; it also would not allow Israel to expand westward, into Sinai, or eastward, into the West Bank.
The United States had applied this policy in pressuring the IDF to withdraw from El Arish in Operation Horev in 1949 and from Sinai in 1956. A version of it would appear in Henry Kissinger's directives after the IDF encircled Egypt's Third Army at the end of the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
General Earle Wheeler, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, barred the distribution of the plan to subordinate levels. A preliminary paper was prepared by June 5, the day the war erupted, and became outdated even before it could be used.
Two retired IDF major generals, Israel Tal and Shlomo Gazit, who was then head of research in Military Intelligence said, many years after, upon hearing the secret plan of the U.S. military, that Israel had no knowledge of this.
The website has a copy of "Critical Incident No. 14", in PDF.
Although preventing Israel from expanding into the West Bank and the Sinai would've spared everyone a lot of trouble (Israel wouldn't have had to deal with Palestinian refugees, or terrorists attacking Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and may be spared the Yom Kippur War), it's hard to imagine a US attack on Israel being anything other than a clusterfuck that'll make Operation Iraqi Freedom look like Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada).
Posted: 2008-05-15 11:38pm
by Cecelia5578
As far as actually attacking Israel itself, it'd help that the Israeli's aren't going to launch a preemptive attack on American airbases or aircraft carriers.
Re: US Had Emergency Plan for Attacking Israel in 1967
Posted: 2008-05-16 08:41am
by Stuart
Sidewinder wrote: Although preventing Israel from expanding into the West Bank and the Sinai would've spared everyone a lot of trouble (Israel wouldn't have had to deal with Palestinian refugees, or terrorists attacking Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and may be spared the Yom Kippur War), it's hard to imagine a US attack on Israel being anything other than a clusterfuck that'll make Operation Iraqi Freedom look like Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada).
There's no news here; the U.S. has contingency plans for attacking everybody (and so does everybody else) so its not remarkable that they have one for attacking Israel. That plan gets dusted off and updated every so often; it doesn't mean there's a serious intent to use it, its just nice and comforting to have.
As to the result of a 1967 attack on Israel, I'm not as pessimistic as you are. The important thing to note is that the Israelis really aren't very good (then or now); their image of military prowess is entirely due to the fact their opponents have ranged from the imbecilic to the abysmal. Then (as now), the Israelis had a first-class air force, a third-rate army and a Navy that makes McHale's Navy look like the height of competence (in fact, McHale's Navy makes a good template for the Israeli Navy - think of a Navy whose senior ranks consist entirely of Captain Binghamptons whil their junior officers are all Ensign Parkers while the enlisted personnel are all Grubers with not a McHale in sight and you get the picture). The Med fleet in those days was quite powerful so it wouldn't have been such a route to disaster as you think.
Posted: 2008-05-16 09:11am
by Xon
I'm not suprised, it is widely known most countries have contingency plans for what todo if they needed to attack even allies. I'm sure the Australia->USA entails Australia bending over and surrendering.
I'm sure the USA has Emergency Plans for attacking the USA.
Posted: 2008-05-16 10:34am
by The Grim Squeaker
Xon wrote:I'm not suprised, it is widely known most countries have contingency plans for what todo if they needed to attack even allies. I'm sure the Australia->USA entails Australia bending over and surrendering.
I'm sure the USA has Emergency Plans for attacking the USA.
Well, it's happened once before
.
Posted: 2008-05-16 01:49pm
by Illuminatus Primus
Are there contingencies on the books for thwarting possible secession/rebellion scenarios on U.S. territory, Stuart?
Posted: 2008-05-16 03:21pm
by MKSheppard
Uhm, WAR PLAN WHITE anyone (did I get the colorcoding right)
I've looked at a copy of it; it included handy appendixes for declaring martial law, with "FILL IN BLANKS" for governors etc to issue.
Posted: 2008-05-16 06:07pm
by KlavoHunter
Which then brings to mind, if South Carolina and the like have secret documents, ready-to-go if they need to secede again...
Posted: 2008-05-17 01:09am
by Coyote
Actually, I was thinking that this time around, we could just let the South go.
Please, guys?