Why did Operatioan Nickel Grass (Aid to Israel in yom kippur war '73) happen?

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greenlion88

New Member
Is it because the US knew Israel had a nuclear bomb and were worried about excessive damage in oil-exporting centers? Was is because the US had many politicians sympathetic to Israel's conflict? Or was it just because the US was able to bill the Israelis for the aid and make a profit (not sure if this is true or whether it was pure aid with no strings)?
Details and/or links would be appreciated!
 
I seriously doubt that it was because the US was afraid the Israelis would use nuclear weapons. With Israel's enemies being so close, there is a better than even chance that using nukes would seriously contaminate their own country and so many other countries nearby who may well then throw their active support in with Israel's enemies.

Israel's ownership of Nukes is like a small child armed with a great big stick, he may get to hit you once, ... but what happens then....

Israel also has a decided disadvantage in that they are geographically confined to a very small area which makes them a great (concentrated) target for any potential aggressor.
 
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There's the East-West Struggle & the Soviets were backing the Arabs. There also "Holocaust Guilt(Remorse?)", though indirect.
 
greenlion88 said:
Is it because the US knew Israel had a nuclear bomb and were worried about excessive damage in oil-exporting centers? Was is because the US had many politicians sympathetic to Israel's conflict? Or was it just because the US was able to bill the Israelis for the aid and make a profit (not sure if this is true or whether it was pure aid with no strings)?
Details and/or links would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

October 6, 1973, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria. This attack came as a surprise to Israel, the United States and most of the world. October 8, the Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, gave orders to mount 13 20-kiloton nuclear warheads on their Jericho missiles and F-4 Phantoms. Whether Israel really was in possession of nuclear weapons or was bluffing at the time were unclear but it was a clear signal to the U.S. The same day Meir came with a personal appeal for military assistance. All European countries refused because they feared that Arab countries would make good on their threat to cut off oil supplies to the West.

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger learned of this threatening nuclear escalation on the morning of 9 October and U.S. President Richard Nixon, ordered the commencement of Operation Nickel Grass, to replace all of Israel's materiel losses. The decision was taken the same day the Soviets began their own resupply operation of Arab forces by sea. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Kissinger had told Sadat that the reason for the U.S. airlift was that the Israelis were close to “going nuclear”

Regardless of these concerns, the US government found that maintaining the balance of power in the region was closely tied to the survival of Israel. Surprisingly, the United States was under no treaty obligations or formal protocols to supply Israel. The commitments derived from a series of White House policy pronouncements issued by five successive presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman. These pronouncements indirectly linked the territorial integrity of Israel to the national security interests of the United States within the greater framework of peace and stability in the Middle East. Moreover, under the Nixon Doctrine, the United States favored support to friendly countries by providing the military equipment and supplies needed for self-defense.

The transports had major consequences for the rest of the world; the Arab countries lived up to their threats of a complete oil embargo against the U.S. and Europe. It was the beginning of the oil crisis in 1973.
 
The USA found the USSR had been arming the Arab nations for a year leading up to this war. The USSR provided people to trained the Egyptian infantry, to remain in place when Israeli tanks approached and use their RPGs when they could hit the Israeli tanks on the side. (Something they had not done in previous conflicts!) The USSR had satellites in orbits to cover the conflict, the USA did not. So the USA flew the SR-71 daily to get the intelligence needed.
The USA was very concerned when they recieved indications Israel was getting ready to use nuclear weapons. That would change the political dynamics in the Middle East making them far worst. Whether it was real or a bluff, it got the desired response from Washington. On Oct. 9th, El Al Airlines started up to twenty flights from the USA to Israel per day. On Oct. 10th the USSR started its airlift to Syria. On Oct.14th, the USA started its airlift in full force... C-5s and C-141s. The USA provided fighter protection for the airlift to Israel from Spain and the carrier USS Independence in the Mediteranean about six hundred miles from Israel. US surface ships were stationed every three hundred miles to provide radar surveilence. The USS Guadacanal (amphib carrier) stood by in case any American civilians needed to be evacuated from any war zone. At 150-miles from Israel, the IAF provided fighter protection the rest of the way to Israel. The US airlift provided more tonnage to Israel than the USSR had to Syria and Egypt, even though the USSR started days earlier, plus the USSR was far closer to its allies than the USA was to Israel. The USA airlifted 22,325 tons of materiel to Israel, by October 30th. During the same general time, the Soviets airlifted 12,500–15,000 tons of supplies. This really troubled the USSR.
Look up, "Operation Nickel Grass" America's re-supply efforts. URL;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Nickel_Grass

As it turned out the USA going to DEFCON 2 was a wise decision! The USSR had wanted to send transports with paratroopers to help its Syrian and Egyptian allies. Whereas the IAF had control of the air over Syria, what would have been the repercussions "IF" IAF fighters shot down transports full of Soviet paratroopers????
 
Back in those cold-war days it was important to keep a balance against Soviet influence, and Israel was the only place in the Middle-East where the US forces could expect to find a safe landing ground.

The pro-Israeli lobby was powerfull even back then, often indicated by the turmoil around the USS Liberty.

Not to mention the fear og having Israeli nuclear technology (bombs) spread out in the Arab world should Israel actually be overrun and defeated.
 
A Can of Man said:
I don't recall Saudi Arabia ever being a Soviet ally.
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Good point, was Saudi Arabia ever allied with anyone for longer period than the time they needed to brush away unpleasant neighbouring threaths?

They support the Arab claims and possibly also actions against enemies of the Arab cause, but other than that...?
 
And perhaps it was the Soviets who used the West's support of Israel to become friends with the Arab countries rather than the other way around.
 
A Can of Man said:
And perhaps it was the Soviets who used the West's support of Israel to become friends with the Arab countries rather than the other way around.
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Quite possible, but that was prior to any US engagement in the region, back in those days it was Great Brittain and France who supported Israel.

Suggested reading: Google United Arab Republic
 
Yeah the dream of Gamal Abdel Nasser. I am quite aware of it. Hence "West" not the "United States." After all, France was Israel's first ally. Either way, it was a good excuse for the Soviet Union to go ahead and support the countries opposed to Israel who happened to also be very rich in oil!
 
Right. And were not the original stances in favour of Israel by Russia and not in favour of Israel by USA?

Churchill of course was always in favour, and so, if my memory serves me right, was Napoleon.
 
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