Iraq and nuclear weapons development -Osirak reactor story

[Stewart Farber <farbersa@optonline.net>]

Radsafe:



On the issue of nuclear weapons proliferation as background to concerns about 

Iraq some on Radsafe might find the following of interst.



There is a book [First Strike by Shlomo Nadimon, 353 pages] published in 1987 

which tells the inside story of why and how Israel took the actions it did in 

1981  to destroy the Osirak nuclear reactor being built by Iraq. The Osirak 

research reactor was being built by the Iraqi's [ironically given today's 

realpolitik on action against Iraq, with the reactor supplied by the French, and 

with Hot cells supplied to Iraq by the Germans for reprocessing its HEU 

irradiated fuel] with the clearly stated intention of Saddam of developing 

nuclear weapons to destroy Israel and make Iraq the main power in the Mideast & 

Arab world. 



Saddam had referred to his having nuclear weapons circa 1980 as the "sword of 

Nebuchadnezzar" to be used to destroy Iraq's foes and restore the splendor of 

Babylon to the Arab world. 



The author of First Strike, Shlomo Nakdimon was as I recall an inside military 

person in the Israeli Air Force. The book reads like a novel and is a fascinating 

read.



>From a review on this book available used from www.Amazon.com 



"The Political Background to an Historic Air Raid"



"In a bombing raid that took months to prepare, and mere minutes to release the 

bombs, on June 7, 1981 the Israel Air Force robbed Saddam Hussein of the ability 

to produce nuclear weapons for at least another decade. It would take the Iraqi 

dictator years of effort to replace what he had lost in this one day's operation. 

It would take the free world almost as many years to recognized the debt that 

they owed to the Israeli leadership which had rid them of this threat.

In these pages, Shlomo Nakdimon has captured the political story behind this 

operation: the years of futile diplomacy and negotiation, during which the 

Israeli government attempted in vain to warn the United States and Europe of the 

impending danger of a nuclear armed Iraq; and following the raid, the months of 

condemnation and the arms embargo that Israel endured for eliminating this 

threat. Shlomo Nakdimon's account provides an essential record of these events, 

and a warning against complacency in the face of a dictatorial madman. While not 

as riveting as Dan McKinnon's account of these same events, which is told from 

the pilot's point of view, the political story told by Nakdimon is perhaps of 

more enduring value. It is sobering to realize how many world leaders knew of 

Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions, but failed to react. For those readers who 

want to further explore the details behind Saddam Hussein's early nuclear weapons 

program, I can recommend the 1984 publication, "Nuclear Proliferation Today", by 

Leonard S. Spector. However, Shlomo Nakdimon captures the essentials of this 

story, and hopefully has captured a lesson that we will not soon forget."

==============



Info on book availability:

Description: Title: FIRST STRIKE/THE EXCLUSIVE STORY OF HOW ISRAEL FOILED IRAQ'S 

ATTEMPT TO GET THE BOMB 

http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y01Y4595812Y9909188/qid=

1046720998/sr=1-1/104-7919457-0880753



Stewart Farber, MSPH

farbersa@optonline.net















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