ISRAEL DISCLOSES ITS NUCLEAR OPTION

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- For the first time, Israel has allowed an open discussion of its nuclear program.

The discussion is contained in a new documentary on Israel's nuclear capability. It is the first time the government has allowed the production and airing of such a program.

In contrast to previous documentaries on the subject produced abroad, Israeli leaders agreed to be interviewed. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres reviewed the history of Israel's nuclear program and its cooperation with France in the 1950s and 1960s.

Neither Peres nor any other Israeli official acknowledges that the Jewish state has nuclear weapons. Previous assessments have asserted that Israel has up to 200 nuclear warheads.

The documentary, "A Bomb in the Basement ­ Israel’s Nuclear Option," was produced in France, Israel and the United States and quotes former U.S. officials recalling Washington's opposition to Israel's nuclear program. The documentary will be aired in Israel on Sunday.

"We thought it was a mistake on Israel’s part to develop nuclear weapons," Paul Warnke, former chief U.S. arms control negotiator, said.

The screening of the documentary comes amid Israel's quiet debate on increasing its nuclear deterrence in face of Iran's development of atomic weapons. Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has privately urged a change in Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity once Iran is assessed at having a nuclear weapon, expected as early as 2004.

France supplied most of the components and technology for Israel's nuclear program. The French secretly constructed the nuclear reactor in Dimona, which remains off-limits to international inspection. The project was supervised by French Atomic Energy Commission director Francois Perrin.

"Francois Perrin called [then-French Prime Minister] Guy Mollet the day after my visit and told him that Israel should be supplied with a nuclear bomb," former French defense official Abel Thomas said. "That's how it was."

The documentary quotes what it termed foreign sources as saying that Israel declared a nuclear alert three times in its history. The sources said that during the 1970s, Israel built three to five atom bombs annually and today has an arsenal of at least 200 nuclear weapons.

The film quotes military analyst and commentaror Ze’ev Schiff as saying that he was the only journalist allowed to tour the Dimona nuclear facility.

http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2001/november/11_03_1.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 03, 2001