Events Invariably Get in the Way of Plans: the Osirak Raid as a Case Study in Crisis Management during the Early Reagan Administration

On June 7, 1981, fourteen Israeli fighter jets bombed Iraq’s Osirak reactor, destroying the nation’s fledgling nuclear program and igniting a storm of international outrage. This essay explores the Reagan administration's effort to manage the crisis, finding that the final U.S. policy reflected a broader struggle to develop a regional strategy for the Middle East and revealed structural faults in the policy planning apparatus at large. The crises' eventual resolution affirmed the administration’s crisis management strategy and further postponed serious planning for U.S. policy in the Middle East.