On this Day in 1981
From BBC Archives:1981: Israel bombs Baghdad nuclear reactor
The Israelis have bombed a French-built nuclear plant near Iraq's capital, Baghdad, saying they believed it was designed to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel.
It is the world's first air strike against a nuclear plant.
With remarkable precision, an undisclosed number of F-15 bombers and F-16 fighters destroyed the Osirak reactor 18 miles south of Baghdad, on the orders of Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
The army command said all the Israeli planes returned safely.
The 70-megawatt uranium-powered reactor was near completion but had not been stocked with nuclear fuel so there was no danger of a leak, according to sources in the French atomic industry.
This was condemned on the day, but is now almost universially praised. I post this just to remind people of the past - and that Israel must never compromise its security to gain approval from the international community. Never
posted by Chris Hughes @ 12:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home