The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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153
Sect et NOFOfU'~
Chapter 3
Abdel Nasser overthrew the Government of Iraq and assassinated the
royal family. Long concerned by the growing influence of Nasser,
who had close ties to the Soviet Union and now headed both Egypt
and Syria in the new United Arab Republic. President Eisenhower de­
cided that US intervention was necessary to stabilize the situation in
Lebanon and to show Nasser that the United States was willing to use
force to defend its vital interests in the region. Before intervening in
Lebanon, the United States consulted with the United Kingdom,
which also decided to intervene in the Middle East by sending para­
troopers to assist the Government of Jordan on 17 July.
With US Marines and Army troops deployed in a potentially
hostile situation in Lebanon, US military commanders and intelli­
gence community analysts immediately requested tactical reconnais­
sance flights to look for threats to the US units and evidence that
other Middle Eastern countries or the Soviet Union might be prepar­
ing to intervene. The U-2s of Detachment B in Turkey carried out
these missions.
Because tactical reconnaissance required an immediate readout
of-the films taken, the Photographic Intelligence Center (the new
name for the Photo-Intelligence Division from August 1958) quickly
reopened the film-developing unit at Adana and staffed it with lab
technicians and photointerpreters. Throughout the summer of 1958.
Detachment B U-2s brought back photography of military camps. air­
fields, and ports of those Mediterranean countries receiving Soviet
arms. The detachment also kept a close watch on Egyptian-based
Soviet submarines, which posed a threat to US 6th Fleet ships in the
Mediterranean. In addition, U-2s flew occasional electronic intelli­
gence collection missions along the Soviet border and over the Black
Sea without entering Soviet airspace. In late August, as the crisis in
the Middle East eased, the United States began withdrawing its
14,300 troops. It was not until 25 October, however, that the last
American soldier left Lebanon. 101
BRITISH PARTICIPATION IN THE U-2 PROJECT
Shortly after the withdrawal of US troops from Lebanon, a new group
of pilots joined the U-2 project. In November 1958, four RAF officers
arrived at Detachment B at Adana. thus beginning the United
Kingdom's participation in U-2 operations. The British had first
"" Ambrose, Eisenhower: Tlte President. pp. 462--473.
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