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Time to guarantee Greece and Cyprus a qualitative military edge
President Lyndon Johnson faced a conundrum
As the Cold War raged, the United States sought to cultivate both Israel and Arab allies.
- Michael Rubin
- Washington Examiner
Each sought American arms, but the possibility that Arab states might use such weaponry to attack Israel was real.
It was against this backdrop that, in 1968, Johnson blessed the sale of Phantom F-4 fighter jets to Israel.
At the time, the Phantoms were among the world’s most advanced.
Israel received them before NATO allies Germany and Turkey and a decade before Egypt.
Ultimately, the internal deliberations led to a…