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Israel: Submarines Might Have Nuclear Weapons Former U.S. State and Defense Department officials have said Israel is arming three diesel submarines with nuclear weapon-capable cruise missiles, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, May 14). The U.S. Navy monitored testing of the new missiles from a submarine stationed in the Indian Ocean in 2000, according to former Pentagon officials. U.S. analysts have studied the nuclear weapons capability of the missiles, a former senior U.S. official said. “It is above top secret knowing whether the sub-launched cruise missiles are nuclear-armed,” a former Pentagon official said. Israel has been attempting to arm its submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, according to a book published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Probably the most important nuclear-related development in Israel is the formation of its sea-based nuclear arm,” wrote Joseph Cirincione, director of the Carnegie Endowment's nonproliferation project. Israel’s three submarines could give it the capability of keeping one nuclear weapon-equipped submarine deployed at sea at all times, according to the book. “Such a survivable deterrent is perceived as essential because of Israel’s unique geopolitical and demographical vulnerability to nuclear attack, and one that no potential enemy of Israel could ignore,” the book says. The possible Israeli decision to arm its submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles could mean that Israel is concerned about Iranian and Iraqi attempts to build advanced long-range missiles, according to the Post. Such missiles might be capable of destroying Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which is mainly land-based, the Post reported. While Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts have said it has an arsenal of short- and medium-range nuclear-capable missiles as well as nuclear bombs that could be dropped from aircraft and loaded onto Harpoon missiles that could be fired from airplanes or ships, the Post reported. The United States has supported Israel’s position of ambiguity in relation to its nuclear arsenal since the late 1960s and continues to do so, said a former senior U.S. diplomat. “It gives it a strategic deterrence,” the diplomat said. “If (Israel) were being explicit, that would create problems with its neighbors like Egypt and Syria . . . whose leaders years ago agreed that (ambiguity) did not pose an offensive threat to them” (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, June 15). Israel yesterday denied the U.S. reports that it has nuclear weapons-equipped cruise missiles. “The command of our navy would be pleased to have a few of those. There are various kinds of reports that repeat themselves every so often,” said Israeli Army spokesman Ron Kitri. “I don’t know what their source is” (Nathan Guttman, Ha’aretz, June 16).
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