There is a lot of small talk going around about the way Israel has attacked the Gaza Strip and the murder of innocents that followed. I call it 'small talk' because its easy to take a stand that is morally right, based on the reports of the media that are streaming in. What is difficult to notice and is usually called 'propagandist' is how easily Hamas got elected and how very conveniently did they place their defence capabilities near schools and hospitals.
Of course the Hamas versus Israel is just one of the battles that Israel has fought with its neighbours. The most famous one is the Six Day War. The next in that category would be the destruction of the Iraqi Nuclear Plant. And post the elections in Israel, there will be heightened talk of a second attack on the Iranian nuclear reactor.
7the June 1981 --the first time in modern history a nation conducted a preemptive strike on a nuclear facility and succeeded. It remains the only successful strike by one nation on another , one that involved meticulous planning,impeccable secrecy and looming elections.
'Two Minutes Over Baghdad' is a definitive account of Operation Opera from the point of view of those that carried out this attack. The authors--Amos Perlmutter, Michael Handel,Uri- Bar Joseph, have done a remarkable in collecting evidence and presenting it to us in a way that is easily understandable by a lay reader. Its not a full-length military novel, rather its divided into parts , the preparation and fears--as early as 1950s, the attack itself and the repercussions. What authors tell us is the detailed military preparation that went on before the attack--something that is textbook material in military schools like the Six Day War--the number of people that knew about the attack--a total of five,and Israel's fear of the holocaust.
Indeed, this book illustrates what it is like to live in a neighbourhood where countries have 'wiping out Israel' as a part of their constitution. And to think that the Iraqi nuclear program was under the control of Saddam Hussein.
The Osirak nuclear reactor was attacked by Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, but its complete destruction took place during the bombing by the Israelis. The book also talks about how the missiles and planes were to be chosen. The planes had to be able to fly at a low range, should have enough capacity to fly 350 miles and back without refuelling and should be able to attack without detecting. All this was to happen without any collateral damage and without any pilot being in the custody of Iraq.
When you read the book, you also realise that almost every Israeli family--including that of PM Menachem Begin-- has been through the trauma of the holocaust or that of Anti-Semitic strife. PM Begin took Saddam's Anti-Zionist threats seriously and tried to negotiate with the French Government to try and stop the transfer of nuclear technology. When that didnt work out, he developed a plan to wipe out the reactor itself. The book also talks about the brilliance of the then Minister of Agriculture, Ariel Sharon, who provided inputs for the nuclear attack and was a firm supporter of the attack. Post the attack, the world took a position against Israel,as did the US. The opposition condemned the attack because it was too close to the polls and Begin's party--the Likud party-- was trailing. However if the opposition,led by Shimon Peres, were to have been in power, there is every reason to believe that they would have carried out the attack too. The victory was hailed by Israel and Begin's party came to power again with Ariel Sharon as the Defence Minister.
The book is a detailed non-fiction account that gets over in under two hours. The writing is not heavy and is easy to understand. Its not a biased book that aims to sway the reader towards the Israeli point of view,rather it maintains a neutral position and shows both the positives and negatives of the attack. What is a constant throughout the book is a nation and its government's need to stay alive. So much so that PM Begin had to proclaim " On no account shall we permit an enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against the people of Israel." This came to be known as the Begin doctrine. It is a good background read before the next Israeli elections.
There is enough material to suggest there this time there will be an attack on the Iranian nuclear reactor. And the government that comes to power will pursue that goal doggedly. In all, after you read the book you will realise that apart from the usual media channel we have a lot of other sources of information that give us the other side of the story. The other side may or may not be right, but as a spectator, with the right to form a judgement it becomes important that we have all information.
The Amazon link for the book is here. It retails for $49.95.
At Landmark(Mumbai), with the current conversion rates, it will retail for around Rs.250. It will have to be ordered.
