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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 19, 1981
PAGE 8
should be short--no more than four to six double-spaced, typewritten pages,
and be pointed toward a topic or a problem relative to today's youths. If
you question whether your chosen subject is suitable or not, make up an
outline of what you plan to write and send it in. Your suggestions for
topics to be covered in the magazine are also welcome.
The Worldwide News The Worldwide News could not effectively report on the
events in God's Church without the concerted effort of the ministry and
those reporters you assign. When you know that a significant happening is
planned for your area, such as a visit by Mr. Armstrong, feel free to
contact us and we will forward you information on how to better cover the
event, both editorially and photographically. And, if you have suggestions
for the improvement of the Church's newspaper, please write or look us up
when you're in on the refresher program. Thank you for your support.
Dexter H. Faulkner, Managing Editor
ON THE WORLD SCENE
THE WHY'S AND WHEREFORE'S BEHIND ISRAEL'S DRAMATIC ATTACK "Operation Baby
lon"--the Israeli code name for its blitz against the Iraqi Tammuz nuclear
complex--is over. The smoking rubble of the French-built reactor bears
mute testimony to what Newsweek magazine called "a bolt out of the Old
Testament."
Now the scene shifts to the United Nations, where, fortunately for Israel,
the Reagan Administration, exerc1s1ng its veto power, will prevent any
sanctions from being levied against Jerusalem, despite the howls and cries
of Israel's foes which hate the "Zionist entity." And while the debate
drones on, additional facts emerge concerning the raid, why the Israelis
did it, and what the Iraqis were really up to.
"Operation Babylon" added another star to a lengthening list of successful
Israeli secret sorties. This one was of considerable length in the plan
ning stage. Five different dates for the attack had been set. On June 5,
Prime Minister Begin, in complete control of the operation, finally set the
launch date for two days later, upon learning that the Iraqis were planning
to activate it as early as the first week in July. Once "hot," contami
nation from the destroyed reactor could have spread to the 3� million
people in Baghdad.
For several months prior to the attack, the Israeli air force was groomed
for the operation. A full-scale model of the entire reactor was built in a
restricted part of the Sinai Desert. A carefully selected group of the most
talented Israeli pilots practiced bombing runs incessantly.
(After the
actual attack, there was some controversy as to whether the pilots used
electronically guided "smart bombs" or conventional "dumb bombs." It was
probably a case of "dumb bombs" and "smart pilots.")
The raid took the Pentagon, said one of its spokesmen, by "thunderous
surprise." The Israeli pilots, skipping low over the desert floor in a
weaving pattern, carefully avoided the lone U.S. AWACS plane flying over
Saudi Arabia near the Persian Gulf. Israel may even have had knowledge of
the AWACS schedule and flight paths.
The debate rages in full rhetoric over whether Jerusalem's daring strike
was "aggression," or to use legal terminology, "anticipatory self-defense."