On June 7, 1981, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin summoned his cabinet to a
surprise meeting to let them know what he had just done. He proceeded to inform them that he
had just authorized a fleet of fighters to destroy Iraq's new nuclear facility.
He then retreated to his office to pray.
Begin knew that failing was not an option. His pilots needed to cross
over 600 miles of densely-fortified enemy territory, fly low to avoid detection,
avoid anti-aircraft machinery and ground-to-air missiles, and make sure
to destroy the reactor Osirak on their first try - because there would not be another.
If the radar-jamming measures failed, Arab pilots would swarm in and engage
in a firefight. Moreover, if one of his airmen was captured,
they would be interrogated by the Iraqis, leading to grave consequences for Israel.
As Begin waited in his office, praying for a successful mission,
the shrill ring of his emergency phone interrupted his thoughts…
Shipping And Handling
In 1975, France and Iraq signed a nuclear cooperation agreement, and within a year,
the French provided their new allies with an Osiris-class nuclear reactor.
It was named Osirak, which came from merging the names of the reactor and its owner.
Although both nations maintained that the reactor was intended solely
for scientific research and peaceful purposes, not everyone was convinced.
Construction started three years later at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Center near Baghdad.
The 40-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor was actually the bigger of two reactors,
which the Iraqi named Tammuz 1 and Tammuz 2. But on April 6, 1979, undercover agents
sabotaged the Osirak reactor while it was awaiting shipment to Iraq at La Seyne-sur-Mer in France.
Then, over a year later, Mossad agents took the life of Yahya El Mashad,
an Egyptian nuclear scientist in charge of the Iraqi nuclear program.
From the beginning, the Israelis viewed the reactor with suspicion and fear. They
firmly believed that their historic enemies were attempting to build a
nuclear weapon that could escalate the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
Then, in the summer of 1980, Iraq received a shipment of roughly 12.5 kilograms of highly
enriched uranium fuel for Osirak directly from France. Both nations continued to assert
that the reactor was for research purposes only and that military use was prohibited.
The first delivery marked the beginning of a series of six shipments that would provide
Iraq with 72 kilograms of uranium. However, it was reportedly stipulated in the purchase
agreement that no more than 24 kilograms of HEU could be present in Iraq simultaneously.
Last Resort
By the summer of 1981, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin found himself in a predicament.
While he was 68 years old, his nation was just 33 years old and had already
experienced three devastating wars and a war of attrition.
However, at present, the most significant threat to the security of his people was
the infamous Butcher of Baghdad, the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Above all, even more so than his unwanted Iranian neighbors, the Shi'ites or the Kurds,
Hussein harbored deep-seated hatred for the world's recently-created Jewish state.
The ruthless strongman kept evoking genocidal rhetoric from the 1930s,
vowing to: (QUOTE) "Drown Israel in rivers of blood."
Hussein's very public pursuit of nuclear power made Israel uneasy, to say the least. And adding
to Israel's anxiety, France, one of Israel's former allies, was collaborating with Iraq.
France had worked closely with Israel for roughly two-thirds of its existence until
then-French President Charles de Gaulle sought to consolidate French influence in the Middle East.
Then, as Israel won the Six-Day War in 1967, France stopped exporting weapons
to the nation and instead provided Iraq with modern nuclear reactors,
including one big enough that it could allegedly process fuel for a nuclear weapon.
In the meantime, Israeli intelligence had been busy wooing French and Iraqi informants,
eavesdropping on private communications,
and closely inspecting the layout of the new atomic facilities.
Armed with enough evidence to demonstrate to the international community that Hussein and
his nuclear program were a legitimate threat to world peace, the Israeli Prime Minister appealed
to world leaders time and time again but never found the support he sought.
Begin would have to confront the Iraqi nuclear threat alone.
Never Again
The entire weight of responsibility fell on Begin’s shoulders, but his moral compass was
always guided by his obligation to the millions of Jewish and Israeli citizens,
especially the children he had to protect, even if he had to do so
alone. His political philosophy was simple yet unwavering: “Never Again.”
The memory of the Holocaust was much more than a sentiment; it formed a coherent political
and military precept that evolved into the Begin Doctrine. Put simply, a country that
called for Israel's destruction should never be allowed to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Without further ado, Israeli intelligence and military agencies got to work.
Soon, French technicians started resigning, and Iraqi officials were increasingly intimidated. But
Hussein continued his pursuit as if a potential military escalation was a minor inconvenience.
Given that bombing shipments of materials or picking off key personnel would not suffice,
Israel had to take much more drastic measures. And that meant dismantling Osirak entirely.
But when the Prime Minister consulted his cabinet, he was met with apprehension.
Intelligence officials believed that Hussein would merely restart his program more discreetly.
Moreover, the reaction from allies and enemies alike was guaranteed to be harsh.
Even domestic opposition played a role. For one, Shimon Peres, leader of the opposition party,
bluntly accused the Prime Minister of drumming up trouble to look good in the upcoming elections.
But Begin had to protect the Jewish people. For several harrowing months,
he agonized over the decision, pondering the fate of the children and pilots if he did nothing.
Finally, after countless sleepless nights, he made a choice: he would authorize Operation Opera.
Like Clockwork
At 3:55pm on June 7, 1981, eight Israeli F-16As and six supporting F-15As took off from Etzion
Air Base, led by Ze'ev Raz. The pilots managed to cross Jordanian and Saudi airspace unchallenged
by conversing in Saudi-accented Arabic while overflying Jordan, convincing air controllers
that they were a Saudi patrol gone off course. Likewise, in Saudi airspace, they pretended to
be Jordanians, using their radio signals and formations to cleverly deceive the controllers.
Armed with two unguided Mark-84 2,000-pound delay-action bombs,
the heavily loaded F-16As and their companions continued to mislead the Arabs. What's more,
the fighters were so heavily loaded that the external fuel tanks ran out in flight,
and they had to jettison them over the Saudi desert.
Despite the significant risks, the fleet made it into Iraq undetected.
Then, upon approaching the target, the squadron split into two. The main F-16 group
was escorted by only two F-15s while the others scrambled elsewhere as diversion and backup.
The infiltrators then descended to barely 30 meters over the desert to avoid radar detection.
By 6:35pm, within 20 kilometers from the complex, the F-16 squadron climbed to 2,100 meters and
sharply dived at 35 degrees at no less than 1,100 kilometers per hour, targeting Osirak.
Halfway down, the formation released their Mark 84s in pairs,
which impacted the cement dome every five seconds.
The pilots struck the reactor with uncanny accuracy, scoring
at least 8 out of 16 hits. Despite Iraqi defenses intercepting the Israeli pilots,
the attackers evaded the anti-aircraft fire and climbed to a high altitude to return home.
Overall, the attack lasted no longer than two minutes, but Osirak was destroyed.
A Naughty Boy
Within 90 seconds, the Israeli Air Force had squandered Hussein's
reactor. But more impressively, the pilots returned unscathed.
As expected, the international reaction was quick and harsh,
but Israel alleged it had acted in self-defense,
arguing that the reactor would become a more significant threat in less than a month.
Furthermore, Operation Opera established a precedent for every future consideration in
Israel's policy, firmly defending the Begin Doctrine. In fact, subsequent government
statements even declared the event was not an anomaly but a guide for future governments.
On the other hand, Israel's deliberate ambiguity policy gained a more profound
meaning after the strike: their posture on nuclear weapons capabilities of other
states in the region was no longer ambiguous. However,
many experts agree that the attack worsened the situation by driving the Iraqi nuclear
program underground and even provoking Hussein to pursue his ambitions with renewed hatred.
The counter-proliferation strike brought countless reactions from around the world. Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher stated it had been a: (QUOTE) "Grave breach of international law," while the New
York Times categorically called it: (QUOTE) "An act of inexcusable and short-sighted aggression,"
and the Los Angeles Times labeled it: (QUOTE) "State-sponsored terrorism."
But in Begin’s eyes, he had just averted an assured disaster for his people and solidified
a military doctrine that would provide direction for Israel for decades to come.
“Never Again” was no longer a propagandistic claim but a serious practice that allowed the
Jewish people to feel safe again after centuries of persecution.
As such, the Israeli leader shook the reprimands off, humorously concluding:
(QUOTE) "Oh, I'm a naughty boy, aren't I?"
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