Final_Judgment

[632] Final Judgment 730
We might also have a good idea as to another reason why Lyndon
Johnson decided not to run for re-election in 1968. Maybe the Israeli
nuclear issue was—dare I say it—"another factor" (maybe even the
"primary" reason) that LBJ decided to step down.
Maybe "domestic factors" such as unrest over the Vietnam War were
just the public issues that we heard about in the press—for we certainly
never heard about Israel and the bomb. This is speculation, of course, but
quite reasonable speculation indeed.
ISRAEL AND THE BOMB: FROM JFK TO LBJ
But no more speculation. Let's see what Israeli writer Avner Cohen has
said more recently about the transition from JFK to LBJ and its impact on
Israel's nuclear arms program: On page 195 Cohen writes:
On 22 November 1963 John F. Kennedy was
assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson became
president. The transition from Kennedy to Johnson
reminded Israelis of the transition from Ben-Gurion to
[his successor] Eshkol . . . It also benefited the Israeli
nuclear program."
On page 196 Cohen added that Johnson "lacked Kennedy's interest in
nuclear proliferation in addition to his personal and political reasons for
supporting Israel," pointing out that "a confrontation with Israel on the
nuclear weapons issue was therefore less likely than it had been during
Kennedy's years." Cohen also pointed out on page 177 that "The transition
from the Kennedy to Johnson administrations changed the character and
function of the [inspections of the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel]
significantly." On page 193 he described this further:
President Johnson was also more flexible than
Kennedy on the rules of the Dimona inspections. The
Israelis were able to determine the rules of the visits,
and the Johnson administration chose not to confront
Israel on the issue, fearing that Israel would end the
arrangement. [Inspector] Culler recalls that his
assumption at the time was that the restrictions were
agreed on at the highest level in both countries.
Kennedy threatened both Ben-Gurion and Eshkol that
non-compliance with his request could "jeopardize
American commitment to Israel's security and well
being," but Johnson was unwilling to risk an
American-Israeli crisis over the issue . . . Unlike
Kennedy, Johnson was looking for a compromise that
would serve the interests of both nations." [Emphasis
added by Michael Collins Piper]