Real History and the War against Iraq The Index to the Traditional Enemies of Free Speech Alphabetical index (text) New York, Israel Hears Lebanese Echoes In American Occupation Woes By Ofer Shelah TEL AVIV — STUNG by accusations that his agency botched its pre-war Iraqi threat assessments, Israel’s military intelligence chief insisted this week that Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were real and would eventually be

found. David Irving comments: UPON reflection, it seems strange that of all the countries with most to gain from a reversal of the “deteriorating American position” in Iraq, Israel is one nation which has so far failed to offer either a military contingent — despite her lavish equipment with American arms and technology — or financial support. In the first Gulf War of course she was urgently “asked” to keep out, which was a nice position to be in.

This time there has been no such request — just silence from Tel Aviv. Time to stand up and be counted — and to put your own men in the firing line, instead of asking other nations to bleed for you? Just a thought. “We have verified intelligence,” the spy chief, Major General Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash , told the daily Yediot Aharonot in an April 11 holiday interview. “I’m speaking about tens of launchers, tens of missiles and several chemical and biological warheads.

Either they hid them or they moved them somewhere. In the end they’ll turn up.” Ze’evi admitted he was speaking out of pique, wounded by a scathing Knesset intelligence review last month. But his words had an uncomfortable ring. Like most Israelis in or out of uniform, he ardently supported the American invasion last year because of Iraq’s very real threat to Israel and, it was commonly assumed, to the West.

Even the liberal daily Ha’aretz saluted the American invasion last month in an editorial on the war’s first anniversary. Now, with the American occupation in trouble and anti-war sentiment rising in the United States, Israelis are deeply alarmed — but uncertain how to proceed. “We are crossing our fingers for the Americans in Iraq,” Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told Yediot last week. “Their success is vital for world peace.”

Last year, on the eve of the war, Israel was a quiet but enthusiastic supporter of America’s war plans. Saddam Hussein’s military power, it was universally agreed, made him one of the Jewish state’s most dangerous adversaries. He had sent troops to fight in almost every war against Israel, and had fired nearly 40 Scud missiles at it during the 1991 Gulf War.

His overthrow was seen as eliminating Israel’s most serious existential threat, undercutting support for radicals and opening the way for a new relationship with the Palestinians. Despite the strong feelings here, official spokesmen took care in the months before last year’s invasion to keep a low profile, fearing that aggressive advocacy would fuel accusations that Israel or its Jewish allies were pushing America into war for Israel’s benefit.

Nonetheless, top government and military figures did not hide their view that the war presented a unique chance to change the face of the Middle East. Many predicted it would bring about the end of the intifada, dashing the hopes of Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat that the Arab world would rise to support him.

They also spoke of a chance for positive changes in the relationships between Israel and hostile countries such as Syria or Iran, once the American superpower literally knocks at their door. The army’s intelligence branch eagerly cooperated with American and British agencies, sharing information on Iraqi capabilities and intentions .

Sources here deny that Israel supplied biased information, but it plainly saw the possibility of overthrowing Saddam as highly beneficial — and its intelligence collaboration was meant to help the American action. Recent investigations, including the controversial report by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, indicate that the intelligence-sharing created a negative [sic. They mean positive ] feedback effect: Information that Israel gave to Western agencies was then passed