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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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BY WAY OF DECEPTION 26prime minister is to read the execution list and decide whether ornot to initial each name on it.* * *It was on June 7, 1981, at 4 p.m. on a bright, sunny Sunday, thata group <strong>of</strong> two dozen U.S.-built F-15s and F-16s took <strong>of</strong>f fromBeersheba (not from Elat, as widely reported, since that isadjacent to Jordanian radar), on a treacherous 90- minute, 650-mile journey across hostile countries to Tuwaitha, just outsideBaghdad, intent on blasting the Iraqi nuclear plant to kingdomcome.Accompanying them was what looked like an Aer Linguscommercial carrier (the Irish lease their planes to Arab countries,so it wouldn't seem out <strong>of</strong> place), but in truth was an IsraeliBoeing 707 refueling aircraft. The fighters kept in close formation,with the Boeing flying directly underneath, to make it appear as ifthere was only one aircraft, a civilian plane on a civilian route. Thefighters were flying on "silent," meaning they transmitted nomessages, but they did accept them from a backup ElectronicWarfare & Communications plane, which also served to jam othersignals, including hostile radar.About halfway there, over Iraqi territory, the Boeing refueled thefighter aircraft. (The return flight to Israel was too long toaccomplish without refueling, and they couldn't risk trying it afterthe attack since they might be pursued; hence the brazenrefueling directly over Iraq.) The refueling complete, the Boeingpeeled <strong>of</strong>f from the formation, accompanied by two <strong>of</strong> the fighteraircraft for protection, cutting northwest through Syria, eventuallylanding in Cyprus, as if on a regular commercial route. The tw<strong>of</strong>ighters stayed with the Boeing only until it left hostile territory,returning to their base at Beersheba.In the meantime, the rest <strong>of</strong> the fighters continued on their way,armed with Sidewinder missiles, iron bombs, and 2,000- pound"laser-riding" bombs (which ride a beam directly to the target).Thanks to information originally obtained from Halim, the Israelisknew exactly where to strike to inflict the most dam-

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