Israel bombed Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 − it pushed program underground & spurred Saddam Hussein's desire for nukes
Israel, with the assistance of U.S. military hardware, bombs an adversarys nuclear facility to set back the perceived pursuit of the ultimate weapon. We have been here before, about 44 years ago.
In 1981, Israeli fighter jets supplied by Washington attacked an Iraqi nuclear research reactor being built near Baghdad by the French government.
The reactor, which the French called Osirak and Iraqis called Tammuz, was destroyed. Much of the international community initially condemned the attack. But Israel claimed the raid set Iraqi nuclear ambitions back at least a decade. In time, many Western observers and government officials, too, chalked up the attack as a win for nonproliferation, hailing the strike as an audacious but necessary step to prevent Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from building a nuclear arsenal.
But the reality is more complicated. As nuclear proliferation experts assess the extent of damage to Irans nuclear facilities following the recent U.S. and Israeli raids, it is worth reassessing the longer-term implications of that earlier Iraqi strike.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-bombed-iraqi-nuclear-reactor-205232770.html