vault backup: 2026-05-17 23:55:29

40 - EVENTS/MAJOR_CONFLICTS/Gulf of Tonkin Incident.md

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ tags:
   - NSA
 category: "Major Conflict"
 summary: "The Gulf of Tonkin Incident refers to the August 2 and 4, 1964 incidents in which a genuine North Vietnamese attack on the USS Maddox was followed by a second 'attack' on August 4 that almost certainly never occurred, yet was used by the Johnson administration to obtain the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizing open-ended military escalation in Vietnam - a deception confirmed by NSA declassified documents released in 2005."
-date: 1964-08-04
+start: 1964-08-04
 location: "Gulf of Tonkin, off North Vietnam"
 ---
 

40 - EVENTS/MAJOR_CONFLICTS/Osirak bombing.md

@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
 ---
+title: Osirak bombing
+aliases:
+  - Osirak bombing
+  - Operation Opera
+  - Operation Babylon
+created: 2026-05-17
+updated: 2026-05-17
 tags:
   - Event
   - Military
@@ -6,16 +13,16 @@ tags:
   - Iraq
 category: "Major Conflict"
 summary: "1981 Israeli air strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak near Baghdad, carried out with U.S.-supplied F-16s and condemned internationally."
-date: 1981-06-07
+start: 1981-06-07
 location: "Osirak, Iraq"
 ---
 Osirak bombing refers to the Israeli air strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak, twelve miles southeast of Baghdad, on June 7, 1981. The raid was carried out by Israeli F-16s, which had been authorized for purchase by [[Israel]] in 1975 for "defensive purposes only."[^1]
 
-Upon learning of the bombing, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] privately expressed delight, remarking, "Well. Boys will be boys." Despite this, the [[State Department]] formally condemned the bombing, and some of Reagan's high command, including [[Caspar Weinberger]] and [[George H.W. Bush]], proposed sanctions against [[Israel]]. However, the suspension of F-16 deliveries was lifted two months later.[^1]
+Upon learning of the bombing, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] privately expressed delight, remarking, "Well. Boys will be boys." Despite this, the [[State Department]] formally condemned the bombing, and some of Reagan's high command, including [[Caspar Weinberger]] and [[George H.W. Bush]], proposed sanctions against Israel. However, the suspension of F-16 deliveries was lifted two months later.[^1]
 
-Within [[Israel]], the bombing was controversial. [[Yitzhak Hofi]], the director of [[Mossad]], and Major General [[Yehoshua Saguy]], chief of military intelligence, both opposed the attack, primarily because there was no evidence that [[Iraq]] was yet capable of building a bomb. [[Yigael Yadin]], the deputy prime minister, also dissented. Saguy argued that the adverse reaction in [[Washington, D.C.]] would be a more serious national security threat to [[Israel]] than the Iraqi reactor. Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]], however, was buoyed by the success and unilaterally announced the Israeli coup, defending the operation by stating that another Holocaust would have occurred if the reactor had not been destroyed.[^1]
+Within Israel, the bombing was controversial. [[Yitzhak Hofi]], the director of [[Mossad]], and Major General [[Yehoshua Saguy]], chief of military intelligence, both opposed the attack, primarily because there was no evidence that [[Iraq]] was yet capable of building a bomb. [[Yigael Yadin]], the deputy prime minister, also dissented. Saguy argued that the adverse reaction in [[Washington, D.C.]] would be a more serious national security threat to Israel than the Iraqi reactor. Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]], however, was buoyed by the success and unilaterally announced the Israeli coup, defending the operation by stating that another Holocaust would have occurred if the reactor had not been destroyed.[^1]
 
-Begin also made a controversial statement at a British diplomatic reception, claiming that the Israeli planes had destroyed a secret underground facility at Osirak intended for the assembly of Iraqi nuclear bombs. Israeli officials knew this description was not of a facility in [[Iraq]], but rather of a secret underground facility in [[Israel]] at [[Dimona]]. They attempted to downplay his remarks by stating he had misspoken and that the facility was only four meters deep.[^1]
+Begin also made a controversial statement at a British diplomatic reception, claiming that the Israeli planes had destroyed a secret underground facility at Osirak intended for the assembly of Iraqi nuclear bombs. Israeli officials knew this description was not of a facility in Iraq, but rather of a secret underground facility in Israel at [[Dimona]]. They attempted to downplay his remarks by stating he had misspoken and that the facility was only four meters deep.[^1]
 
 Following the bombing, [[Ariel Sharon]] concluded that the [[United States]] was not a reliable strategic ally. He then turned to a clandestine Israeli intelligence agency under his defense ministry, which began intercepting intelligence on the [[Middle East]] and [[Soviet Union]] from sensitive American agencies.[^1]
 

40 - EVENTS/MAJOR_CONFLICTS/USS Liberty Incident.md

@@ -1,17 +1,23 @@
 ---
+title: USS Liberty Incident
+aliases:
+  - USS Liberty Incident
+  - USS Liberty attack
+created: 2026-05-17
+updated: 2026-05-17
 tags:
   - Event
   - Military
-  - USA
+  - UnitedStates
   - Israel
 category: "Major Conflict"
 summary: "1967 attack on the U.S. Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War, killing 34 crew members and sparking enduring controversy."
-date: 1967-06-08
+start: 1967-06-08
 location: "Eastern Mediterranean Sea"
 ---
 The USS Liberty Incident refers to the attack on the U.S. Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty by Israeli forces on June 8, 1967, the third day of the [[Six-Day War]]. The Liberty, flying the American flag, had been monitoring [[Middle East]] communications traffic in international waters off the coast of [[Israel]] and had been identified as an American ship before the attack. The incident resulted in the deaths of thirty-four American servicemen and wounded 171 others.[^1]
 
-[[Walworth Barbour]], the American ambassador to [[Israel]], urged [[Washington, D.C.]] to downplay the incident, reporting that [[Israel]] did not intend to admit to it and suggesting that publicity could feed Arab suspicions of U.S.-Israel collusion. He noted that the Israelis were "obviously shocked by error and tender sincere apologies."[^1]
+[[Walworth Barbour]], the American ambassador to Israel, urged [[Washington, D.C.]] to downplay the incident, reporting that Israel did not intend to admit to it and suggesting that publicity could feed Arab suspicions of U.S.-Israel collusion. He noted that the Israelis were "obviously shocked by error and tender sincere apologies."[^1]
 
 ### Footnotes