---
category: "Nuclear Scientists & Programs"
tags:
  - Person
  - Nuclear
  - Israel
summary: "Assistant Secretary of Defense who pressured Israel to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and directly confronted Israel about its nuclear weapons program."
born: 1920-01-31
died: 2001-10-31
location: "Webster, Massachusetts"
---

Paul C. Warnke served as the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. He was involved in intense pressure on [[Israel]] to sign the [[Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty|NPT]] in exchange for F-4 fighter jets. Warnke directly questioned [[Yitzhak Rabin]], then [[Israel]]'s ambassador to [[Washington, D.C.]], about [[Israel]]'s nuclear capabilities, stating, "we are shocked at the manner in which you are dealing with us.… You, our close ally, are building nuclear bombs in [[Israel]] behind our back."[^1]

### Footnotes

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 14.