U.S. AWARE OF ISRAELI CLUSTER BOMB WORK JACK ANDERSON - 23 JULY 1986

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100160035-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: August 25, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

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WAMOVVI'010 PV-Sr
NGTON POST
JACK ANDERSON and DALE VAN ATTA
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1986 D11
U.S. Aware of Israeli Cluster Bomb Work
he Jonathan Jay Pollard spy case has
T apparently inspired a series of leaks by
government officials who don't subscribe
wholeheartedly to President Reagan's staunch
support of Israel.
The latest of these stories involved cluster
bombs. U.S. Customs Service officials leaked word
that Israel is suspected of trying to obtain U.S.
technology on the weapon.
We wrote about Israel's use of U.S.-made cluster
bombs in Lebanon four years ago. Ariel Sharon,
Israeli defense minister at the time of the 1982
invasion, admitted to us that he had authorized use
of the bombs, despite Israel's 1978 pledge to use
them only in the event of an attack by more than
one Arab country.
Now our associate Donald Goldberg has obtained
a secret Defense Department document that shows
U.S. intelligence agencies have known for at least
four years about Israel's development of its own
cluster-bomb technology. The project was designed
specifically to give Israel cluster bombs it can use
without restrictions.
"Both Israel- and U.S.-made cluster bombs have
probably been used by the Israeli Air Force in the
conflict in Lebanon," the Defense Intelligence
Agency report concludes. It was dated July 16,
1982, the day President Reagan stopped the
shipment of new cluster bombs to Israel because of
the controversy surrounding their use in Lebanon.
This allowed the White House to avoid an
investigation into Israel's use of the U.S.-supplied
bombs. If such an investigation had established that
Israel had broken the 1978 agreement on
cluster-bomb restrictions-and it undoubtedly
would have-then sale of all military items to Israel
would have been stopped by law.
The secret DIA report explained that Israel's
development of its own cluster bombs was
"undoubtedly spurred" by the widespread criticism
of their use in Lebanon, and Jerusalem's concern
that the United States "might cut off supplies."
But the point is that even in 1982, Israel had a
capability to produce cluster bombs and was "no
longer completely dependent upon U.S. supplies of
such munitions," the report says.
The report-goes into some detail: "Israeli-made
cluster bombs include the TAC-A, B, C, D and
apparently also the TAL-1. These bombs were
developed in the 1970s at the Rafael Armament
Development Authority north of Haifa and are
probably made there. Production of these munition:
reflects Israel's desire not to be completely
dependent on the U.S. for defense materiel."
Sharon's disclosure to us in 1982 was the first
public acknowledgment by an Israeli official that
the cluster bombs were being used in Lebanon. The
bombs are canisters full of golf ball-sized pellets
that explode like grenades on contact with a hard
surface. But when they land on soft ground, the
pellets often fail to detonate; they become alluring
toys for children, who are then cruelly maimed or
killed when the balls explode.
The secret Pentagon report raises an interesting
question: If Israel has been developing its own
cluster bombs since the 1970s, why would it need
American technology, stolen or not? Yet this is
what Customs Service officials have charged.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
ION POST `', Jl:~'l 1 `3'x? E' .
Jietments Comml cr
n
~16r Draft Evaders;
dig Protest Planned
"The government is going to have a
massive legal battle on their hands if
they try to take this into court."
Besides organizing protests, a
number of the groups opposing the
registration are also putting together
teams of lawyers to defend those
who are indicted. Among other con-
cerns, they will be carefully watching
whether the government attempts to
single out vocal opponents of draft
registration.
"We'r'e watching the selective
prosecution k cue very carefully,"
Landau said. "I suspect some of
these people will be prosecuted
merely because they spos up."
Russel' said the Justice Depart-
ment is carefully avoiding any pat-
tern in the indictments, to avoid
having selective prosecution raised
as a defense.
B;:rry Lynn of Draft Action pre-
dicts that it will be difficult for the
government to obtain conviction. ii.
any case.
"Poward the end of the Vietnam
period, juries began refusing; to con-
vict on the grounds that they
thought the law was im;ruper ... ,"
he said. "I get the sense that juries
will not convict, now, -especially in
toe case of religious objectors."
In addition. Lynn said, many of
the a istant U.S. sttorni-vs who will
be handling the cases wen; if draft
age themselves during the Vietnam
era and are personal!v less than anx-
ious to go forward with thi, type of
case.
He added that resi:;tance hroups
will also be wary of government ef-
forts to move trials to parts of the
where they would have less
countrsy,
political impact that. in a big city.
Last May, The Washington Post
obtained a transcript of a meeting at
the Pentagon in which members of
the administration suggested that
trials of nun-registrants be held in
remote areas of the country-not
Washington, Chicago or New York.
cities where major political protests
By Mary Thornton
W.,uz4gwn ft" ,tart writer
The first federal indictments for
evading draft registration are expect-
ed next week, with anti-draft pro-
tests planned for the following day
in more than 100 cities around the
country.
John Russell, a spokesman for the
Justice Department, confirmed that
a "handful" of indictments is expect-
ed by the end of June. He added
that var.rous U.S. attorneys are still
not ready to go forward on indict-
rrects in scat of the 160 ca es re-
fund by the Selective Sery:ce for
p osscution.
A,Lctiier va cases referred by the
Seh,ctivo -arvice have been dropped,
be said, because the violators turned
out to .'e women, non-citizers or
men outside the covered age group.
Mtn born in 1960 and subsequent
;;eras art required to till out regs-
trat:on Corms at their local post of-
fices within 30 days before or after
their ibth birthdays. Nut to do so is
a felony that carries a maximum
pe,.i.lty of five years in prison and a
$10,000 fine.
In all, the Se!ective Service be-
lieves that about 527,001) young men
have violated the law by not regis-
tering. Approximately 7.9 miihnn
have registered.
Using newly authori?ed access to
Social Security records, the Selective
Service this month began a co:nput.
tar search to find the neon lefistrtr:ts.
Joan Lamb, speaking for Selective
Service, said letters will begin going
ott< in August to those who are di::-
cpvered, warning that they must rtg-
iste r or face prosecution.
Most of the 160 currently facing
the posiyiiity of prosecution are
conscientious objectors who essen-
tially identified themselves by writ-
ing to the Justice Department or
Selective Service and saying they
were refusing to register, many of
them for religious reasons.
David Landau of the American
Civil Liberties Union, one of the
groups involved in the protests, said,
Israeli, Indicates
C 1 4, "Uhs
tJsed ill Lebanon
:h~htt,ewO k Po,' Fos ciiir r-nl,1.
While' Israel has so far not answered a
U.S. request about whether it is using
American-supplied cluster bombs in Leb-
anon, in vioiation of previous agreements,
the Israeli military chief-of-staff has indi-
cated that the devastating projectile! have
been used.
Lt. Gen. R afar I fats-,, in :: letter to 6-
raeli troops issued Sstureiw and broadcas,
by Israeli armed force:, radio tout day,
eight Israeli soldiers had been injured
picking up cluster butr.h piece, in Lebanon
as suuvcnirs.
'The chief-of-stufl -1,,r,a1~." the broad.
cc =t said, "that right s? ~ltiictti wc?:e rt.:'ently
w?oanOvd as a rt~,i t of
an:. not Ulj-(?rvil,t? ll,t" ..:~,?ti. '1 Irt ~~? ..~-
di,:, picked on
Sct;e),i:5 Laid s,crv in 'ed 'I!,e c ut:f?of
staff aupeid c fur-c,r:ui!y tr cam; t c , !di? r
through ins It i... 1 C ~?, i t.. t. I`. ;t
t.iK(, Ci il(tt ,_.urn ur(1^' , ! i:!S:rtitl:t::
h?'au*c soft: C'!)
,t
_a15!cT bUl!?t)'. iYCu':? !F!atae flan "?t'C~
of s;e&i shards fru)n t ." 1 v' ntanv F-?. n
stied bun,bies, t ctr it. 1!trsti by
th,: i r,ited States s+,i-.i' tT ciat r.>ive 1,,;: -
poser. After repurt~ I.' ,'n the. w..rt' u'? r:
Israel's 1978 inrartun cf Lc'.iuncn, L., t'!
reporteuly promi.,ed tte c, then) vniv
aknin: t n'.ilitar., furti1ie(i Oi:0t'r:..
.. ,.i)Ca`o!1(lel?'? na.i r??1,
u^e tat cluster 1 an,hs s uIr~t .t: tetr-
gecs ill the currem, iuvit itm arl L`et,,a
Assistant Secretary tai' Save 11'at T. C:l.:-
vei ids toid Cot?rrt?,., ?n J)ln?c 1.:h:,:: h-
lUnitcd 11'~tatrs hc. a:.iusj 1>;a'_' v, ht- : ?r it
has used thorn.. AS of ';e-ttrci.,v t, Jt .t,
re,pontied.
!U fie exl,-
Sin c. Pre:,r?'-r (' i :r , r;n;t.?
tut,,,; r.raft rt !, _ r icr) t,..
,.!:t: hu been p!ua toted f r_,: re.--
is:m ring.
I'rvside,!ti l ca )didt:'. liona;d
Reagan campaigned atai.t.; draft
rt.gistrati3r., but he chsn6ed his
mind after he was elected.
Indictments had been expected
late last year, but pietas were delayed
afts'r the Keegan ad:.ilni,trtti ?: an-
nt,iT?tP:: an an,rr':fly' period lint,;
73,1? l'r.:% .b for yt)U:.r t!:en to L'(rat
forward and register.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6 4
 r1 . r
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
~- 7
ty:;
w
is ii.;1L >.,'LiL
American dale Conditions
flay Have Been Violated
was ammunition for tanks( Some residents were apprehensive at charge of rulers.
-y PLO. Syria
:,se towns in disarray raider
heavy shelling and air strikes
"sr advance. H jwever, hard
,g t(x)k pLce, e,pecially in
,..i'lerLi said. 'today the three
lit (ievu. itinr; rttrc(ive Hess ut
~: '1 !,...... r.' ju'l tank
..1..1(1; 177',, t
t .;,r t:l killt?(I in
?,.Ii? tin': :.?i1, ili'?.ltctd
By Edward Cody
'.Ci,!;Ing:on P.,,t rurei~n wrvtcr
JERUSALEM. June 27-l.rael ackno vledgect
todliv that it forces ,rsed U.S.-Supt':.'d cluster
bnnibs and artillery sne!ls during the mva;i:,n
Lebanon. t
'1 he acknowledgement r: iced the t;t.:e>tir-ii of
whether use of the
tha U.S. stipulat;un that they were to be 's,e? a oni"?
for &fen=i'e purer=ea.
M::j. Gen. Aharun Yariv, who br:efd corre-
spondent.., emphasized that the cluster I (,air. anu
shell; w' re nor used against civilian ta:~, t.? i;::t
t
(4th r :uainat what he called "uri;lnized re,:s
tance. mainly the Syrians, armor suits
TI1i, reference to S_ nan soldiers al::i
to their Palestinian guerrilla allies =rrint.l cr-
sigrled to counter press repo its from !h. %t
.?1-
the bumus were used against cavil:ar..i in 11
iali refugee camps and, on one occ'l :1. an
An cnio.n hospital in the Btlaa Val!ty'
"They were not ?let:d a,~alnst civilians. I musn
ari:>s ,vl ere there were concentrations ':f civil-
ians, ' he said.
Cluster b')-n): e:cplode like grr:l.lc?.' . r)ra:l:i~
of steel snarls that kill l);~(.,r:e in a
goad s.vath. Because ui their potc:it:al. the United imp.... Cr :rlil:..:~
on their use when. it sold ahout 22.1 them 'o
Israel in the eari:? 19'')s.
Foilouing the re;r its of their a-': in Lehannrl.
the United States wi ked Israel for is (,ru.;r.:? tl ) :C
,Li of Friday, a sp.;l:e~man for tile' L.S. -:1w, r:o answer had keen recelveii.
The yuetiun also will Iaitiecl :;her. [ ?r :?
Pr;n:e Minii'er Menachem Begin rncc in a
sc'?:,ion with a group of unme r. rt it n iv ,: :.
me:nt)cr- (burin;; ")is'i-it
!';::T'uesday'. Begin :,aid he woul't
The Israeli g(,verniuent rt :)ctrl( ! :1''?
that had been blasted by gunfire, and sev-
eral more lay uncollected on the road.
Israeli soldiers said the t(,. ri:)ie des truc-
tion they tw:ought was tuutvuid:1':;:r ';t eau.-
the Syrians and Palestinian:, ii:iti t:: ?' :1 11I)
positions in buildings among the civilian
population.
"For the Isra:'i A.rn:c ., '. r' . no
choice; we to
eled young ?(,,ii??r. irm it the
devastated
ca ntral p1.lJ:i. l: r :'i
ubuut all t::?
l)l??pjh I'ii' .. ..
tl: t-, .l r,...l L.
.t? '' ..!- r("l .A.lti??1:i:'ll ?.(, lt' .t"1 ::
t. ii:?t it . .'aol i:-(? the t?I,wvr
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
NGTON POST
WAMOV"I &-%
WEDNESDAY, Jay 23, 1986 D11
JACK ANDERSON and DALE VAN ATTA
U.S. Aware of Israeli Cluster Bomb Work
The Jonathan Jay Pollard spy case has
apparently inspired a series of leaks by
government officials who don't subscribe
wholeheartedly to President Reagan's staunch
support of Israel.
The latest of these stories involved cluster
bombs. U.S. Customs Service officials leaked word
that Israel is suspected of trying to obtain U.S.
technology on the weapon.
We wrote about Israel's use of U.S.-made duster
bombs in Lebanon four years ago. Ariel Sharon,
Israeli defense minister at the time of the 1982
invasion, admitted to us that he had authorized use
of the bombs, despite Israel's 1978 pledge to use
them only in the event of an attack by more than
one Arab country.
Now our associate Donald Goldberg has obtained
a secret Defense Department document that shows
U.S. intelligence agencies have known for at least
four years about Israel's development of its own
cluster-bomb technology. The project was designed
specifically to give Israel cluster bombs it can use
without restrictions.
"Both Israel- and U.S.-made cluster bombs have
probably been used by the Israeli Air Force in the
conflict in Lebanon," the Defense Intelligence
Agency report concludes. It was dated July 16,
1982, the day President Reagan stopped the
shipment of new cluster bombs to Israel because of
the controversy surrounding their use in Lebanon.
This allowed the White House to avoid an
investigation into Israel's use of the U.S.-supplied
bombs. If such an investigation had established that
Israel had broken the 1978 agreement on
cluster-bomb restrictions-and it undoubtedly
would have-then sale of all military items to Israel
would have been stopped by law.
The secret DIA report explained that Israel's
development of its own cluster bombs was
"undoubtedly spurred" by the widespread criticism
of their use in Lebanon, and Jerusalem's concern
that the United States "might cut off supplies."
But the point is that even in 1982, Israel had a
capability to produce cluster bombs and was "no
longer completely dependent upon U.S. supplies of
such munitions," the report says.
The report goes into some detail: "Israeli-made
cluster bombs include the TAC-A, B, C, D and
apparently also the TAL-1. These bombs were
developed in the 1970s at the Rafael Armament
Development Authority north of Haifa and are
probably made there. Production of these munitions
reflects Israel's desire not to be completely
dependent on the U.S. for defense materiel."
Sharon's disclosure to us in 1982 was the first
public acknowledgment by an Israeli official that
the cluster bombs were being used in Lebanon. The
bombs are canisters full of golf ball-sized pellets
that explode like grenades on contact with a hard
surface. But when they land on soft ground, the
pellets often fail to detonate; they become alluring
toys for children, who are then crueliy'mainted or
killed when the balls explode.
The secret Pentagon report raises an interesting
question: If Israel has been develop.-!g its own
cluster bombs since the 1970s, why would it need
American technology, stolen or not? Yet this is
what Customs Service officials have charged.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100160035-6
Iq
Next 1 Page(s) In Document Denied
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