I remember reading this somewhere years ago. The idea is that Israel will nuke Paris, Berlin, London, etc, in the event that the west cuts off their support and allows it to be defeated by an enemy force.

Is this just a dumbass conspiracy theory, or is there something to it?

  • Kaplya@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    What? No. First, the US and Europe will never abandon Israel, so this point is moot.

    Second, the US, France and UK have nukes and can retaliate. Instead, Israel is going to nuke the Middle Eastern countries who don’t have nukes. This is why so many of its surrounding countries are extremely hesitant about doing something that might escalate towards an all-out war with Israel. 2 million Palestinian lives is already a lot, but hundreds of millions of lives are also at risk should a nuclear war breaks out in the region.

    And Israel is fast losing this strategic advantage because Russia and Iran just signed a full strategic defense pact last year, which means Iran possessing nukes is only a matter of time.

    If Israel wants to leverage on its strategic position, it’s now or never.

  • American_Badass [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    I’ve heard talk about this for a long time, generally called the Samson option, obviously after the biblical figure. Thing is, it just sounds like a “normal” nuclear deterrence strategy of mutually assured destruction, but I know very, very little about it.

    Seymour Hersh has a book about Israel’s nuclear history (called Samson option). I’ve never personally read it, but Hersh is a respected journalist and I’m sure there’s some useful information in it, if you’re interested.

    I don’t understand Israel and nukes anyhow. They’re obviously nuclear armed, but also somewhat ambiguous about that fact. So I don’t know how it functions as a deterrent if it’s a secret.

    • Kaplya@hexbear.net
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      Israel keeps its nuclear weapons secret so that the Dimona reactor can skirt IAEA inspection. It is only open for US inspectors and require advanced notice, which renders the inspection useless because they have time to cover up everything in advance. Basically it’s not letting you know exactly how many nukes they have and obfuscates indications of what they intend to do with their nuclear weapons program.

    • CTHlurker [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Didn’t Isreal get a lot of their nuclear program from straight up stealing blueprints from the American program? Think I remember a few of the insane right wingers on twitter making that point before I blocked them all and Elon deleted my account.

      • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        I highly doubt the Israelis would need to steal nuke plans. They are quite literally the US’ best and strongest “we will literally die with you” friend. Since nuclear de-proliferation was the strategy for a long time (perhaps the original idea…) the US had/has treaties and such agreeing to not just give nukes away and stuff. But what if someone just left a folder full of all the classified information needed on a coffee table and got up and left the room? Hmm. It was hugely in Israel’s/US’ interests for Israel to have nukes to threaten Iran and the USSR, back in the day, with. I dunno, them having to steal any sort of weapons tech from the US just seems very unnecessary when we would happily give them anything at any time no matter what they’re doing.

        • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          I haven’t read it, but my understanding is that the Hersh book “the Sampson option” mentioned above largely chronicles the development of Israelite nukes, and how multiple US presidents “turned a blind eye” to their theft of secret US documents.

          • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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            1 year ago

            I guess I’m not disputing the underlying premise that Israel got nuke technology through dubious means. I’d just say the idea of them “stealing” it seems… unnecessary? Why steal what your friend will give away? Maybe the stealing illusion is part of the US keeping on the good side of treaties.

            • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              I think you’ve nailed it—I don’t personally know, but i think it’s a well let you “steal” it so you can get them but we won’t be culpable kinda thing.

            • KobaCumTribute [she/her]@hexbear.net
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              1 year ago

              Because everyone involved wants “stealing” to be the explanation? It’s one of those geopolitical things where it’s obvious lies wrapped in obvious lies but it doesn’t matter that everyone knows that so long as no one who matters admits it formally. Like the US blowing up that pipeline: yes, it’s abundantly obvious that they were the only ones with the means, motive, and opportunity to do it and every other possibility is absurd, but it doesn’t matter as long as no one admits it because the issue fundamentally cannot be pressed further.

              • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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                1 year ago

                I completely forgot about that fucking pipeline… there’s too much shit… what a wild thing to just be able to openly do and it’s been basically forgotten

    • this isn’t the same thing as the Samson option, which refers to Israel’s willingness to retaliate against an enemy nation which has attacked it. OP’s scenario is a complete fantasy that he picked up from someone whose brain was about a liter too small for their skull.

    • sysgen [none/use name,they/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      The difference between MAD and the Samson option, is that in the former you’re only attacking whoever attacked you, while in the former you’re attacking bystanders that refused to intervene on your behalf.

    • webdoodle@lemmy.ml
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      Seymour Hersh is one of the only true Journalists left that isn’t in hiding, constantly moving, prison or bunkered up somewhere. We would never have learned about the war crimes the U.S. committed in Vietnam if it wasn’t for his reporting on the Mai Lai Massacre, or more recently the Nordstream False Flag.

    • Tankiedesantski [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      It’s very unlikely that Israel has enough nuclear warheads or long range delivery platforms to hit very major city on Earth. Nuclear weapons are very expensive to maintain and iirc most of Israeli detergent is submarine based, which in theory means they can hit anywhere on earth given enough time, but in practice means that they only have relatively short ranged missiles and won’t be able to hit any country with a competent ASW net.

  • GaveUp [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    I’m pretty sure they’ve admitted they would obliterate all of France if they were to ever be successfully invaded for the obnoxious and pretentious attitudes they’ve displayed

  • Mindfury [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    i mean, while it definitely sounds like some dogshit antisemitic myth, it would be the only cool thing the state of israel ever did if it were true

  • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    The US would literally cut off France, etc. before it let France cut off Israel. France the so-called beacon of… whatever… has been arresting Jewish anti-Zionists for protesting Israel. Imagine arresting Jews for demonstrating against the state that many like to call “the Jewish state.” It sounds absurd on the face, but it’s not about ethnic and religious stuff, it’s about empire and maintaining a slipping one. Jews protesting Israel looks incredibly bad for Israel and Zionists (they can’t just be dismissed as Nazis after all), so the optics of arresting “unruly” protesters is worth it to make sure that people know it doesn’t matter who you are, you do not question the west on Israel.

    This is all a long-ass of saying “why would they do that?” It’s just not necessary. There is no danger of Israel losing support anytime soon. The west might demand they stop sending the IDF to help the settler-terrorists in the West Bank, but as far as backing their military campaigns of bombing and genociding in ways that are “less personal” the US very very clearly has no interest in seriously entertaining the idea. And the EU has effectively made the discussion of doing so illegal (don’t worry, the US will probably pass laws soon enough. A few too many anti-Zionist protesters have been chafing some high-up asses like Jon Greenblat.)

  • Tankiedesantski [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    I don’t think modern nukes are “aimed” in any significant sense of the word. With modern satellites and computers, I seriously doubt nuclear missiles have to rely on flight plans that can’t be altered om reasonable notice.

    If that’s the case, then it really does come down to who’s got their finger on the button at the time.

  • CyborgMarx [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    A bark with no bite, like the US empire would ever let their European investments be trashed for the pride of some racist Russian settlers

  • Maoo [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    I would interpret this as a narrative intended to excuse and explain Europe and the West’s behaviors. It’s a defense against the idea that they’re monstrous colonizers that actually support and agree with Zionism.

    It also plays into the “actually those Jews over there control everyone else with tricks and threats” antisemitic canards. These two things work together for Euros and white supremacist liberals.