The Samson Option (book)
 |
|
| Author | Seymour Hersh |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
|
Publication date
|
1991 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 362 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 24609770 |
| 355.8/25119/095694 20 | |
| LC Class | UA853.I8 H47 1991 |
The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy is a 1991 book by Seymour Hersh. It details the history of Israel's nuclear weapons program and its effects on Israel-American relations. The "Samson Option" of the book's title refers to the nuclear strategy whereby Israel would launch a massive nuclear retaliatory strike if the state itself was being overrun, just as the Biblical figure Samson is said to have pushed apart the pillars of a Philistine temple, bringing down the roof and killing himself and thousands of Philistines who had gathered to see him humiliated.
According to The New York Times, Hersh relied on Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli government employee who says he worked for Israeli intelligence, for much of his information on the state of the Israeli nuclear program. However, Hersh confirmed all of this information with at least one other source. Hersh did not travel to Israel to conduct interviews for the book, believing that he might have been subject to the Israeli Military Censor. Nevertheless, he did interview Israelis in the United States and Europe during his three years of research.
Publisher Random House says, on the inside folds of the cover, that The Samson Option "reveals many startling events," among them:
The American Library Association book review lists additional "significant revelations" in the book:
The New Scientist book review lists specific examples of U.S. official’s suppression of information:
The review also notes the revelation that U.S. President John F. Kennedy attempted to persuade Israel to abandon its nuclear program, and angry notes were exchanged between Kennedy and Israeli Premier David Ben-Gurion in 1963.
...
Wikipedia