“1981: When Iraq Could Have Developed Weapons of Mass Destruction…Israel to the Rescue”

   Former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Shamir said, “Deterrence was not attained by other countries – France and Italy – and even the United States. It was attained by the State of Israel and its Prime Minister (Menachem Begin) who decided, acted and created a fact that no one in the world today – with the exception of our enemies – regrets.”

  Those words were in reference to Israel’s destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor exactly forty years ago today. France and Italy were equipping the material needed to enable Iraq to make nuclear weapons. Since diplomacy on the part of Israel did not sway these countries to stop sending the material, there had to be an alternative. Without preemptive action there was no question that Iraq would have had the capability to destroy Israel in a relatively short period of time. There may have been “no weapons of mass destruction” found after the Gulf War more than a decade later, but this in part was due to Israel’s decision and action in 1981.

   It’s interesting to note that the chief of staff at the time of the raid reported that PM Menachem Begin stated very clearly that he “will not be the man in whose time there will be a second Holocaust,” and while there was the threat that other Arab countries would retaliate against Israel it would not be with the use of nuclear bombs. Of course, there’s little one Arab state has ever done that’s had the backing of other Arab states…maybe in words but not in action!”

   It’s not that the powers that be agree on this raid. In fact, the leaders on the political and military fronts were pretty much equally divided but Begin believed that if he lost the upcoming election, the Labor party under Shimon Peres would never take up the task, pushing Begin to make the big decision despite opposition from members of his own party.

   The point is that so many in the Western World who have been so quick to criticize Israel, more often than not would have reason – and do – breathe a sigh of relief because Israel has the fortitude to do what has to be done. And at least what it was that they did made a good deal of sense…in these days, I’m not so sure.