The information below indicates the US not only
provided "how to build" nuclear weapons and missile information for
France's purportedly "homegrown" nuclear deterrent, but the US
provided this information on the understanding France would pass it on to
Israel.
US TO FRANCE
William Burr https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/william-burr wrote “U.S. Secret Assistance to the French Nuclear Program, 1969-1975: From "Fourth Country" to Strategic Partner” Dated May 26, 2011
at https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/us-secret-assistance-to-the-french-nuclear-program-1969-1975-fourth-country-to-strategic Extracts of this long paper include:
“The Nixon administration secretly reversed a policy of opposition to, and
non-cooperation with, the French nuclear program that began to emerge during
the final years of the Eisenhower administration [ie. late 1950s to 1961].
...
Nixon's decisions stayed secret until the summer of 1989 when Princeton
University political scientist Richard Ullman published an article in Foreign Policy magazine on "The
Covert French Connection." 2 [Richard Ullman, “The Covert French Connection,”
Foreign Policy, No. 75 (Summer,
1989), 3-33.]
...Supporting the decision to aid the French was the assumption, held by Nixon and national security adviser Henry Kissinger, that making French nuclear forces more effective would strengthen the U.S. strategic position against the Soviet Union.
Drawing
upon interviews with over 100 former officials, Ullman sought to puncture two
myths: that the French strategic force ["force de frappe"] was
"entirely homegrown," and that, owing to Washington's restrictive
policy on the diffusion of nuclear technology, only the British had been a recipient
of direct assistance.
Recently
declassified documents show that during the summer of 1973, French defense
minister Robert Galley directly asked
for "‘negative guidance' on the trigger for the French nuclear warhead."
(Document
No. 47)
Defense Minister Robert Galley brought up a variety of
problems where the French wanted help,
such as multiple reentry vehicles, hardening of reentry vehicles
(RVs/warheads), "negative guidance" for nuclear weapons design, and
developing underground test sites so that atmospheric tests could end. The
aid that the French were seeking would amount to assistance for a new generation of French missiles. As
Kissinger aide William Hyland observed, this meant "crossing a line that
was observed during previous cooperation." (Document
No. 48)
Yet, Ullman
also notes that his interview subjects acknowledged that "they had no
confidence that anyone really knew what American scientists and engineers said
to French colleagues over lunch and dinner once they had been given a basic
license to talk." 5 [Ullman,
“The French Covert Connection,” 20.]
Thus, the actual conveyance of "negative
guidance" may have been a matter outside of White House control. Certainly
much more needs to be learned about the U.S. program of assistance to France.”
Pete Comment
Given US distrust of France’s
independent foreign policy along with France’s independent nuclear program why
was the US willing to help France. The joint enemy USSR was one reason. But I also
theorise that French-Israeli nuclear cooperation in the 1950s (eg. France helping build the Negev/Dimona Nuclear Weapons Center and helping with Israel's Jericho
missiles) continued in later decades.
In the 1960s, via France, the US secretly
provide nuclear help to Israel, the US's most important strategic ally in the Middle
East. US nuclear support to Israel occurring via France was more easily covered up. In espionage terms France
acted as the deniable cutout for US nuclear weapon and missile intelligence to
Israel.
FRANCE TO ISRAEL
Significant evidence of French nuclear assistance
to Israel comes from a then serving US officer, who was both a military surgeon
and military intelligence officer. He wrote about
France’s early 1960s nuclear tests in the French Sahara. This was US Lieutenant
Colonel Warner D. Farr, who in a 1999 report to the USAF
Counterproliferation Center states "Progress in nuclear science and
technology in France and Israel remained closely linked throughout the early
fifties."
Furthermore, according to Farr, "There were several Israeli observers at the French nuclear tests [in
the early 1960s in the Sahara] and the Israelis had 'unrestricted
access to French nuclear test explosion data.'"[6]"
Pete Comment
So in the early 1960s there were Israeli observers to French nuclear tests of weapons that were built with US help.
Furthermore Israeli nuclear weapons scientists/engineers "had 'unrestricted access to French nuclear test explosion data." of nuclear weapons France built with US help. As Israel is not known to have conducted its own "hot" (ie. fission and fusion reaction) nuclear weapon tests Israel's nuclear weapons' development (via computer modelling) very much relied on French nuclear test explosion data.
A few remarks to mitigate your views and those of Burr
ReplyDelete- by 1974, the french had already detonated 63 H bombs in Mururoa atoll, including devices launched from Mirage III and IV as well as Jaguar tactical jets. At that date 3 SSBN. of the Redoutable class were in service each with 16 missiles.So US "negative guidance" started late in the game ..., was marginal , although it save probably time and money in the MIRV area which was deployed later. The underground tests at Fantagaufa started in 1975.. the guidance probably improved it safety and effectiveness
- the collaboration with Israel was stopped in the early 60 by De Gaulle which redirected the french foreign policy towards a friendly arab policy ( "arm embargo on israel" in 1968..Mirage V jets paid by israel , reimbursed and sold to Libya Khadafi ..!)). This proves to be an error as the israelis started to build succesfully their own technologies and France lost all influence in the Middle East.
It is unlikely that Giscard , would engage in such activities as he is rememberered as the most pro arab president..having in mind also the 1973 oil arab embargo..
I feel your comment and suggestion are not supported by the historical facts
Correction
ReplyDeleteAt that time 46 tests were detonated in the Touamotu, the first 17 took place in the Sahara.The first underground test in 1975 took place in Mururoa not in Fantagaufa
The negative guidance was also a two way street allowing to follow up the French progress and avoidind the embarassing US spying effort,to somme extent, that was a source of humour and jokes in France. In 1965 an RF101 was intercepted at 300ft above the Pierrelatte U enrichment plant...The film were seized at Ramstein Base..
Hi Anonymous
ReplyDeleteFrom France?
My article is well referenced with hyperlinks to US sources.
In turn, do you have hyperlinks to French and/or English sources to support your case?
As an article of patriotism all nuclear weapon countries minimise the conscious, unconscious assistance and joint collaboration they gain from other countries for their nuclear programs.
All Frenchmen were not officially or unofficially constrained by De Gaulle's official policies regarding joint nuclear activities with Israel in all 50 years after he died
(that was way back in 1970).
Regards
Pete
Yes I am french and had first hand professional experience in this area
ReplyDeleteEverything that I mentionned is publIic knowlewdge and found in hundreds of books , articles, memories ect The french programme was not secret in its synthetic form . Budget objectives and results are in white papers , parlementary docs..aso
Building a nuclear deterrent is a massive industrial/engineering effort of 10000 + engineers in the mining , metallurgy , aerospace , electronic , computer ,medicine..and is not the results of a few sketches, drawings or advice.The "atomic spies" just allow to gain a little time but makes good press stories
Once you know it is feasible , and that's the most important, it is a matter of political comitment, time and ressources (good engineers and money)
In the 40 /50 all the science was known in the US but also in Russia,France , UK ..and Israel
You had a coterie of young scientists in Europe and the US, that knew each other very well, Ernst David Bergmann was a star of German chemistry before 1934 and had worked in France and the UK before starting the Israeli programm in 1949
As far as France is concerned, in 1974 it was 30 years+ in the mission.(the A bomb secret patent , was filed in May 1939,the first reactor started in 1946,and the Plutonium extraction in 1949..and the nuclear sub , the missile and the bombs were operationnal in 1974.Having sub launched MIRV In 1988 and not in 1985 would not have changed the picture
The US negative guidance effect was marginal in historical perspective as a few non MIRV on the USSR were already a deterrent
The US was concerned about safety and their understandind where the french were really. The French wanted to save time and money
In fact since that date the relations are excellent , simulation with super computer, giant lasers for inertial confinment , high speed radiography and so on. Issues are aging of the devices and Safety
As for Israel the idea that the US would use France as a a back-door in the mid 70 is "interesting" to say the least
Giscard had negotiated a deal with Saddam for the OSIRAK reactor later destroyed by the Israeli a few days before start up.. ..The US was not aware ? Saddam only foreign trip was in Pierrelatte France !What the hell those US gov employees were doing !
In fact the Israeli by the mid 70 were on their own ,with their own deterrent, relevant to their political /military situation. Obviously they were spying like probably everybody elde, or receiving infos , materials , codes,.. from various countries or individuals: US , UK , France and massively from the USSR in the 80 in order to progress. Again time and money
Thanks Anonymous
ReplyDeleteFor your additional comment.
I'll turn your comments into a article tomorrow.
1. In the meantime I have located further references about other fields of nuclear assistance the US provided to France. These further references may reflect a small amount of information the US was happy to make public as many US documants have been redacted or never made public.
2. On looking further at the US Lieutenant-Colonel Farr report https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm France was not the only country helping Israel. Farr states:
- "one source concludes that Israel accessed information from U.S. tests conducted in the 1950s and early 1960s. This may have included both boosted and thermonuclear weapons data."
- Israel may have done some very minor tests in the Negev "[82] Underground testing in a hollowed out cavern is difficult to detect. A West Germany Army Magazine, Wehrtechnik, in June 1976, claimed that Western reports documented a 1963 underground test in the Negev. Other reports show a test at Al-Naqab, Negev in October 1966.[83]"
- Israel may have used the geographical isolation of South Africa/South Indian Ocean to conduct tests "A bright flash in the south Indian Ocean, observed by an American satellite on 22 September 1979, is widely believed to be a South Africa-Israel joint nuclear test. It was, according to some, the third test of a neutron bomb. The first two were hidden in clouds to fool the satellite and the third was an accident—the weather cleared.[84] Experts differ on these possible tests. Several writers report that the scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory believed it to have been a nuclear explosion while a presidential panel decided otherwise.[85] President Carter was just entering the Iran hostage nightmare and may have easily decided not to alter 30 years of looking the other way.[86] The explosion was almost certainly an Israeli bomb, tested at the invitation of the South Africans. It was more advanced than the “gun type” bombs developed by the South Africans.[87] One report claims it was a test of a nuclear artillery shell.[88] A 1997 Israeli newspaper quoted South African deputy foreign minister, Aziz Pahad, as confirming it was an Israeli test with South African logistical support.[89]"
- I would also say that Jewish nuclear scientists/technicians (from all the legal Nuclear Weapons States (especiallly US and UK) but not China) who on retirement immigrated to Israel, would have/still do passed/pass on knowledge for the Israeli effort.
Regards
Pete