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A Raid on the Red Sea: The Israeli Capture of the Karine a
A Raid on the Red Sea is the thrilling, real-life tale of illegal gun-running in the Middle East. In this firsthand account, Amos Gilboa gives the harrowing details of the secret close-working relations between Israeli and American intelligence in the seizure of the Karine A ship, the most successful Israeli intelligence operation since the legendary Entebbe hostage rescue.
At 0400 hours, January 3, 2002, two fast boats of Israel’s naval commando unit closed in on the stern of the Palestinian Authority’s Karine A. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had clandestinely loaded its cargo: fifty-six tons of high-grade, long-range weapons destined for the Gaza Strip. The Israelis’ plan to seize it went awry when they found nothing but a confused group of Egyptians, Jordanians, and Palestinians. Had they boarded the wrong ship? Was there going to be an international incident disgracing Israel?
This drama has more than its share of plot twists. The story’s hero, a low-level female intelligence analyst, was the first to grasp the grave danger posed by the Karine A. Analyzing piles of disinformation, she kept on the scent of the ship, tracking it from Egypt to Sudan to Dubai. Only through the joint efforts of Israeli and U.S. naval intelligence, Mossad and the CIA, was the ship stopped and calamity averted. Seizing the ship led to a fateful reorientation of U.S. policy regarding the Middle East with consequences to this day, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the 2020 assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani.
At 0400 hours, January 3, 2002, two fast boats of Israel’s naval commando unit closed in on the stern of the Palestinian Authority’s Karine A. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had clandestinely loaded its cargo: fifty-six tons of high-grade, long-range weapons destined for the Gaza Strip. The Israelis’ plan to seize it went awry when they found nothing but a confused group of Egyptians, Jordanians, and Palestinians. Had they boarded the wrong ship? Was there going to be an international incident disgracing Israel?
This drama has more than its share of plot twists. The story’s hero, a low-level female intelligence analyst, was the first to grasp the grave danger posed by the Karine A. Analyzing piles of disinformation, she kept on the scent of the ship, tracking it from Egypt to Sudan to Dubai. Only through the joint efforts of Israeli and U.S. naval intelligence, Mossad and the CIA, was the ship stopped and calamity averted. Seizing the ship led to a fateful reorientation of U.S. policy regarding the Middle East with consequences to this day, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the 2020 assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani.
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 8, 2023
I’m giving this book 3 stars because it is another example of great story told poorly.
Most of the story surrounds the gathering of intelligence that lead to the capture of the Karin A.
This makes sense in that intelligence analysts have to sift through reams of information and false trails to piece together what is happening. However in most cases, there is no sense of the source, method, or veracity of the incoming intelligence. It just “comes in” This effect is simply to create an emotional roller coaster for the reader without truly grasping the challenge facing the analysts involved.
The author continually refers to the Commandos involved in the seizure as “Navy SEALS”, which they are not. The operators involved are from Flotilla (or Shayatet 13), a publicly acknowledged IDF unit. There is no need to call them anything else.
Towards the end, the author tries to build suspense in the operational planning by explaining how IAF helicopters cannot make the seizure as far out in the Red Sea as the IDF Navy wants because the preferred location is beyond its fuel range. In the end, the IAF agrees to “make it happen” but never explains how they did this.
Most of the story surrounds the gathering of intelligence that lead to the capture of the Karin A.
This makes sense in that intelligence analysts have to sift through reams of information and false trails to piece together what is happening. However in most cases, there is no sense of the source, method, or veracity of the incoming intelligence. It just “comes in” This effect is simply to create an emotional roller coaster for the reader without truly grasping the challenge facing the analysts involved.
The author continually refers to the Commandos involved in the seizure as “Navy SEALS”, which they are not. The operators involved are from Flotilla (or Shayatet 13), a publicly acknowledged IDF unit. There is no need to call them anything else.
Towards the end, the author tries to build suspense in the operational planning by explaining how IAF helicopters cannot make the seizure as far out in the Red Sea as the IDF Navy wants because the preferred location is beyond its fuel range. In the end, the IAF agrees to “make it happen” but never explains how they did this.
March 9, 2023
Although the book is pretty well written (for a page-turner) and it covers a somewhat important incident i don't think that it required a full book, maybe if it was half as long it would've been better.
From the one side Amos manages to tell the story almost minute by minute which is interesting if you're into the details and understanding of how much is involved in almost any (even not too complicated) mission that involves several different forces but from another side Amos 'quotes' what the minister of defense thinks (which he obviously couldn't know as he only spoke with several people who were part of this mission so it's only done for the dramatization) and this was really annoying.
This mission had great implications as was described by the author and for myself- if the ship would've delivered its cargo me & my unit would be exposed to these weapons in less then a year after that once i was serving in the Gaza strip so i'm not taking this lightly but i still think that there was overdramatization of the issue by the author (which is only natural as he's trying to sell the book)
A good point is the explanation in the end of the book how this mission help expose Arafat as the instigator of the 2nd Intifada
From the one side Amos manages to tell the story almost minute by minute which is interesting if you're into the details and understanding of how much is involved in almost any (even not too complicated) mission that involves several different forces but from another side Amos 'quotes' what the minister of defense thinks (which he obviously couldn't know as he only spoke with several people who were part of this mission so it's only done for the dramatization) and this was really annoying.
This mission had great implications as was described by the author and for myself- if the ship would've delivered its cargo me & my unit would be exposed to these weapons in less then a year after that once i was serving in the Gaza strip so i'm not taking this lightly but i still think that there was overdramatization of the issue by the author (which is only natural as he's trying to sell the book)
A good point is the explanation in the end of the book how this mission help expose Arafat as the instigator of the 2nd Intifada
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews