Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the [[United States]], serving from 1981 to 1989. His administration's first [[Middle East]] crisis involved the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak]] in June 1981. Upon being informed of the bombing by his national security adviser, [[Richard V. Allen]], Reagan privately expressed delight, remarking, "Well. Boys will be boys."[^1] Despite public condemnation from the [[State Department]] and proposals from some of his high command, including [[Caspar Weinberger]], to sanction [[Israel]] by canceling F-16 aircraft sales, Reagan had no intention of taking such steps. The suspension of F-16 deliveries was lifted two months later.[^1] In September 1981, [[Menachem Begin 1]] and [[Ariel Sharon]] visited [[Washington D.C.]] to lobby Reagan's administration for a U.S.-Israeli strategic cooperation against the [[Soviet Union]].[^1] --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.