23. The 1980s Air Raids to Keep Saddam From Getting an A-Bomb
Saddam Hussein‘s enemies were alarmed when he began construction of the Osirak nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Baghdad. The reactor could be used for a weapons program that would furnish the Iraqi dictator with nuclear bombs, so his enemies sought to nip the problem in the bud.
In 1980, early in the Iran-Iraq War, Iranian F-4 Phantoms bombed the Iraqi reactor. However, they inflicted minimal damage, and the attempt did little to derail the Iraqi nuclear program. Israel, also threatened by the prospect of nuclear weapons in the hands of Saddam, made its own plans to take out the Iraqi reactor. The result was Operation Opera, one of the more daring air raids of the post-WWII era.