Operation Opera
Part of Arab–Israeli Conflict
Map of the attack
Operational scope	Strategic
Location	Baghdad, Iraq 33°12′30″N 44°31′30″E / 33.20833°N 44.525°E / 33.20833; 44.525
Planned by	Menachem Begin (Prime Minister) David Ivry (Air Force commander)
Objective	Destruction of the Osirak nuclear reactor
Date	7 June 1981
Executed by	Israeli Air Force
Outcome	Successful, reactor destroyed
Casualties	10 Iraqi soldiers killed 1 French civilian killed

Operation Opera (Hebrew: אופרה‎)^[1], also known as Operation Babylon^[2] was a surprise Israeli air strike carried out on 7 June 1981, that destroyed a nuclear reactor under construction 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.^[3][4][5]

In 1976, Iraq purchased an "Osiris"-class nuclear reactor from France.^[6][7] While Iraq and France maintained that the reactor, named Osirak by the French, was intended for peaceful scientific research,^[8] the Israelis viewed the reactor with suspicion, and said that it was designed to make nuclear weapons.^[3] On 7 June 1981, a flight of Israeli Air Force F-16A fighter aircraft, with an escort of F-15As, bombed and heavily damaged the Osirak reactor.^[9] Israel claimed it acted in self-defense, and that the reactor had "less than a month to go" before "it might have become critical."^[10] Ten Iraqi soldiers and one French civilian were killed.^[11] The attack took place about three weeks before the elections for the Knesset.^[12]

The attack was strongly criticized around the world and Israel was rebuked by the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly in two separate resolutions.^[13][14] The destruction of Osirak has been cited as an example of a preventive strike in contemporary scholarship on international law.^[15][16][17]

Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, American forces captured a number of documents detailing conversations that Saddam Hussein had with his inner sanctum.^[18] In a 1982 conversation Hussein stated that, "Once Iraq walks out victorious [over Iran], there will not be any Israel." Of Israel’s anti-Iraqi endeavors he noted, "Technically, they [the Israelis] are right in all of their attempts to harm Iraq."^[18]

Iraq's nuclear program[link]

Iraq had established a nuclear program sometime in the 1960s, and in the mid-1970s looked to expand it through the acquisition of a nuclear reactor.^[19] After failing to convince the French government to sell them a gas-graphite plutonium-producing reactor and reprocessing plant, and likewise failing to convince the Italian government to sell them a Cirene reactor, the Iraqi government convinced the French government to sell them an Osiris-class research reactor.^[20][21] The purchase also included a smaller accompanying Isis-type reactor, the sale of 72 kilograms of 93% enriched uranium and the training of personnel.^[22] The total cost has been given as $300 million.^[23] In November 1975 the countries signed a nuclear cooperation agreement and in 1976 the sale of the reactor was finalized.^[20]

Construction for the 40-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor began in 1979 at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Center near Baghdad.^[24] The main reactor was dubbed Osirak (Osiraq) by the French, blending the name of Iraq with that of the reactor class. Iraq named the main reactor Tammuz 1 (Arabic: تموز) and the smaller Tammuz 2.^[25] Tammuz was the Babylonian month when the Ba'ath party had come to power in 1968.^[26] In July 1980, Iraq received from France a shipment of approximately 12.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium fuel to be used in the reactor. The shipment was the first of a planned six deliveries totalling 72 kilograms.^[27] It was reportedly stipulated in the purchase agreement that no more than two HEU fuel loadings, 24 kilograms, could be in Iraq at any time.^[28]

Iraq and France claimed that the Iraqi reactor was intended for peaceful scientific research.^[8] Agreements between France and Iraq excluded military use.^[29] The American private intelligence agency STRATFOR wrote in 2007 that the reactor "was believed to be on the verge of producing plutonium for a weapons program".^[30] In a 2003 speech, Richard Wilson, a professor of physics at Harvard University who visually inspected the partially damaged reactor in December 1982, said that "to collect enough plutonium [for a nuclear weapon] using Osirak would've taken decades, not years".^[31] In 2005, Wilson further commented in The Atlantic:

the Osirak reactor that was bombed by Israel in June of 1981 was explicitly designed by the French engineer Yves Girard to be unsuitable for making bombs. That was obvious to me on my 1982 visit.^[32]

Elsewhere Wilson has stated that

Many claim that the bombing of the Iraqi Osirak reactor delayed Iraq's nuclear bomb program. But the Iraqi nuclear program before 1981 was peaceful, and the Osirak reactor was not only unsuited to making bombs but was under intensive safeguards.^[33]

In an interview in 2012, Wilson again emphasised: "The Iraqis couldn't have been developing a nuclear weapon at Osirak. I challenge any scientist in the world to show me how they could have done so." ^[34]

Iraq was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, placing its reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.^[19] In October 1981, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published excerpts from the testimony of Roger Richter, a former IAEA inspector who described the weaknesses of the agency's nuclear safeguards to the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Richter testified that only part of Iraq's nuclear installation was under safeguard and that the most sensitive facilities were not even subject to safeguards.^[35] IAEA's Director-General Sigvard Eklund issued a rebuttal saying that Richter had never inspected Osirak and had never been assigned to inspect facilities in the Middle East.^[35] Eklund claimed that the safeguards procedures were effective and that they were supplemented by precautionary measures taken by the nuclear suppliers.^[35] Anthony Fainberg, a physicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, disputed Richter's claim that a fuel processing program for the manufacturing of nuclear weapons could have been conducted secretly.^[35] Fainberg wrote that there was barely enough fuel on the site to make one bomb, and that the presence of hundreds of foreign technicians would have made it impossible for the Iraqis to take the necessary steps without being discovered.^[5]

Strategy and diplomacy[link]

In Israel, discussions on which strategy to adopt in response to the Iraqi reactor development were taking place as early as Yitzhak Rabin's first term in office (1974–1977).^[36] Reportedly, planning and training for the operation began during this time.^[36] After Menachem Begin became Prime Minister in 1977 the preparations intensified; Begin authorized the building of a full-scale model of the Iraqi reactor which Israeli pilots could practice bombing.^[37] Three Israeli pilots died in accidents while training for the mission.^[38]

Israel's Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan initiated diplomatic negotiations with France, Italy—Israel maintained that some Italian firms acted as suppliers and sub-contractors—and the United States over the matter, but failed to obtain assurances that the reactor program would be halted, and was not able to convince the French governments of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand to cease aiding the Iraqi nuclear program.^[39] Saddam Hussein consistently maintained that Osirak was intended for peaceful purposes.^[40] Begin considered the diplomatic options fruitless, and worried that prolonging the decision to attack would lead to a fatal inability to act in response to the perceived threat.^[16] According to Karl P. Mueller, in the spring of 1979, Begin had reached the conclusion that an anticipatory attack was necessary.^[41]

Anthony Cordesman writes that Israel conducted a series of clandestine operations to halt construction or destroy the reactor.^[42] In April 1979, Israeli agents in France allegedly planted a bomb that destroyed the reactor's first set of core structures while they were awaiting shipment to Iraq.^[42] In June 1980, Israeli agents are said to have assassinated Yehia El-Mashad, an Egyptian atomic scientist working on the Iraqi nuclear program.^[43][44] It has also been claimed that Israel bombed several of the French and Italian companies it suspected of working on the project, and sent threatening letters to top officials and technicians.^[42][44][45] Following the bombing in April 1979, France inserted a clause in its agreement with Iraq saying that French personnel would have to supervise the Osirak reactor on-site for a period of ten years.^[43]

Iranian attack[link]

Iran attacked and damaged the site on 30 September 1980, with two F-4 Phantoms, shortly after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War.^[46] At the onset of the war, Yehoshua Saguy, director of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, publicly urged the Iranians to bomb the reactor.^[46][47] This was the first attack on a nuclear reactor and only the third on a nuclear facility in the history of the world. It was also the first instance of a preventive attack on a nuclear reactor which aimed to forestall the development of a nuclear weapon, though it did not achieve its objective as France later repaired the reactor.^[17][47][48]

Trita Parsi, in the book Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States, writes that a senior Israeli official met with a representative of the Khomeini regime in France one month prior to the Israeli attack.^[49] The source of the assertion is Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli government employee. At the alleged meeting, the Iranians explained details of their 1980 attack on the site, and agreed to let Israeli planes land at an Iranian airfield in Tabriz in the case of an emergency.^[49]

Operational planning[link]

The distance between Israeli military bases and the reactor site was significant—over 1,600 km (990 mi).^[50] The Israeli planes would have to violate Jordanian and/or Saudi airspace in a covert flight over foreign territory, making mid-air refueling unfeasible.^[38][51][52] The Israelis eventually concluded that a squadron of heavily fueled and heavily armed F-16As, with a group of F-15As to provide air cover and fighter support, could perform a surgical strike to eliminate the reactor site without having to refuel.^[53]

The decision to go through with the operation was hotly contested within Begin's government.^[54] Ariel Sharon, a member of the Security Cabinet, later said that he was among those who advocated bombing the reactor.^[55] Dayan, Defense Minister (until late 1980) Ezer Weizman and Deputy Prime Minister Yigael Yadin were among those opposed.^[41] According to Mueller, "the principal difference between the hawks and doves on this issue lay in their estimation of the likely international political costs of an air strike".^[41] Shai Feldman specifies that "[those opposed] feared that the operation would derail the fragile Israeli-Egyptian peace process, fuel Arab anxieties about Israel's profile in the region, and damage Israel-French relations".^[56] Begin and his supporters, including Sharon, were far less pessimistic than their opponents about the political fallout.^[41] Yehoshua Saguy argued for continued efforts in trying to find a non-military solution as it would take the Iraqis five to ten years to produce the material necessary for a nuclear weapon.^[54] In the end, Begin chose to order the attack based on a worst-case estimate where a weapon could be created in one to two years time.^[54]

It has been claimed that Israel felt it necessary to destroy the reactor before it was loaded with nuclear fuel, in order to prevent radioactive contamination.^[24] An analysis by Warren Donnelly of the United States Congressional Research Service concluded that "it would be most unlikely for an attack with conventional bombs upon the reactor when operating to have caused lethal exposures to radioactivity in Baghdad, although some people at the reactor site might receive some exposure".^[57]

In October 1980, Mossad reported to Begin that the Osirak reactor would be fueled and operational by June 1981.^[51] This assessment was significantly aided by reconnaissance photos supplied by the United States, specifically using the KH-11 KENNAN satellite.^[38] French technicians installing the reactor later said it was scheduled to become operational only by the end of 1981.^[38] Nonetheless, in October 1980, the Israeli cabinet (with Dayan absent) finally voted 10–6 in favor of launching the attack.^[41]

The attack[link]

Israeli Air Force F-16A Netz 243, aircraft flown by Colonel Ilan Ramon in Operation Babylon.

Nose of the F-16A flown by Ilan Ramon in Operation Babylon, showing the triangular emblem of the attack.

Yehuda Blum, in a speech to the United Nations Security Council following the attack, claimed that the operation was launched on a Sunday afternoon under the assumption that workers present on the site, including foreign experts employed at the reactor, would have left.^[10] Notwithstanding this precaution, there were hundreds of French workers and other nationals at the plant at the time of the raid.^[37]

The attack squadron consisted of eight F-16As, each with two unguided Mark-84 2,000-pound delay-action bombs.^[51] A flight of six F-15As was assigned to the operation to provide fighter support.^[38] The F-16 pilots were Ze'ev Raz (who was later decorated by the Chief of Staff for his leadership), Amos Yadlin, Dobbi Yaffe, Hagai Katz, Amir Nachumi, Iftach Spector, Relik Shafir, and Ilan Ramon.^[58]

On 7 June 1981, at 15:55 local time (12:55 GMT), the operation was initiated. The Israeli planes left Etzion Airbase, flying unchallenged in Jordanian and Saudi airspace.^[53] To avoid detection, the Israeli pilots conversed in Saudi-accented Arabic while in Jordanian airspace and told Jordanian air controllers that they were a Saudi patrol that had gone off course.^[37] While flying over Saudi Arabia, they pretended to be Jordanians, using Jordanian radio signals and formations.^[37][59] The Israeli planes were so heavily loaded that the external fuel tanks that had been mounted on the planes were exhausted in-flight. The tanks were jettisoned over the Saudi desert.^[53]

En route to the target, the Israeli planes crossed the gulf of Aqaba. Unknowingly, the squadron flew directly over the yacht of King Hussein of Jordan, who was vacationing in the Gulf at the time.^[60] Taking into account the location, heading, and armament of the Israeli planes, Hussein quickly deduced the Iraqi reactor to be the most probable target. Hussein immediately contacted his government and ordered a warning to be sent to the Iraqis. However, due to a communication failure the message was never received and the Israeli planes entered Iraqi air space undetected.^[53]

Upon reaching Iraqi airspace the squadron split up, with two of the F-15s forming close escort to the F-16 squadron, and the remaining F-15s dispersing into Iraqi airspace as a diversion and ready back-up. The attack squadron descended to 30 m over the Iraqi desert, attempting to fly under the radar of the Iraqi defences.^[53]

At 18:35 local time (14:35 GMT), 20 km from the Osirak reactor complex, the F-16 formation climbed to 2,100 m and went into a 35-degree dive at 1,100 km/h, aimed at the reactor complex. At 1,100 m, the F-16s began releasing the Mark 84 bombs in pairs, at 5-second intervals.^[53] At least eight of the sixteen released bombs struck the containment dome of the reactor.^[51] It was later revealed that half an hour before the Israeli planes arrived, a group of Iraqi soldiers manning anti-aircraft defenses had left their posts for an afternoon meal, turning off their radars.^[38] The Israeli planes were still intercepted by Iraqi defenses but managed to evade the remaining anti-aircraft fire.^[38] The squadron climbed to high altitude and started their return to Israel. The attack lasted less than two minutes.^[17] According to Ze'ev Raz, the leader of the attack force, the Israeli pilots radioed each other and recited the biblical verse Joshua 10:12 as they were returning to base.^[60]

International political reactions[link]

IAF F-16A Netz with Osirak bombing mark.

International response at the United Nations took two paths. The United Nations Security Council issued a unanimous and almost immediate response on 19 June 1981, following eight meetings and statements from Iraq and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Security Council Resolution 487^[14] strongly condemned the attack as a "clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct" and called on Israel to refrain from such attacks in the future; the Council recognised the right of Iraq to "establish programmes of technological and nuclear development" and called for Israel to join Iraq within the "IAEA safeguards regime" of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.^[61] The Council also stated its consideration that Iraq was "entitled to appropriate redress for the destruction it has suffered." The United States voted for the resolution and suspended the delivery of four F-16 aircraft to Israel, but blocked punitive action by the UN.^[62][63] The suspension on the delivery of the aircraft was lifted two months later.^[64][65]

The UN General Assembly followed the Security Council with Resolution No. 36/27 on 13 November 1981, expressing deep alarm and condemning Israel over the "premeditated and unprecedented act of aggression," and demanding that Israel pay prompt and adequate compensation for the damage and loss of life it had caused.^[66] The resolution also solemnly warned Israel to refrain from taking such measures in the future.^[66]

Debate prior to passage of the UN resolution reflected member states' differing positions on issues such as nuclear proliferation in the region and the appropriateness and justifiability of Israel's actions. The Iraqi representative stated that "the motives behind the Israeli attack were to cover up Israel's possession of nuclear weapons and, more importantly, the determination not to allow the Arab nation to acquire scientific or technical knowledge."^[29] Syria requested condemnation not only of Israel for terrorism against Arab peoples, but also of the United States, "which continue[s] to provide Israel with instruments of destruction as part of its strategic alliance."^[67]

The representative of France stated that the sole purpose of the reactor was scientific research.^[29] Agreements between France and Iraq excluded military use.^[29] The United Kingdom said it did not believe Iraq had the capacity to manufacture fissionable materials for nuclear weapons.^[29] The IAEA Director-General confirmed that inspections of the nuclear research reactors near Baghdad revealed no non-compliance with the safeguards agreement.^[29]

The IAEA's Board of Governors convened on 9–12 June and condemned Israel's action.^[68] The Board further asked that the prospect of suspending Israel's privileges and rights of membership be considered at the next General Conference held by the organization.^[68] On 26 September 1981, the IAEA Conference condemned the attack and voted to suspend all technical assistance to Israel.^[68] A draft resolution was introduced to expel Israel from the IAEA, but the proposition was defeated.^[68] The United States argued that the attack was not a violation of the IAEA Statute and that punitive action against Israel would do great harm to the IAEA and the non-proliferation regime.^[68]

The attack was strongly criticized around the world, including in the United States.^[62][69] Jonathan Steele, writing in The Guardian, described the reaction:

"The world was outraged by Israel’s raid on 7 June 1981. “Armed attack in such circumstances cannot be justified. It represents a grave breach of international law,” Margaret Thatcher thundered. Jeane Kirkpatrick, the US ambassador to the UN and as stern a lecturer as Britain’s then prime minister, described it as “shocking” and compared it to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American newspapers were as fulsome. “Israel’s sneak attack...was an act of inexcusable and short-sighted aggression,” said the New York Times. The Los Angeles Times called it “state-sponsored terrorism”."^[13]

Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel and in charge of the operation, disembarks from an aircraft upon his arrival in the United States, accompanied by Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan.

Aftermath[link]

Ten Iraqi soldiers and one French civilian were killed in the attack.^[11] The civilian killed was engineer Damien Chaussepied, variously described as 24 or 25 years old, who was an employee of Air Liquide and the French governmental agency CEA.^[70][71][72] In 1981, Israel agreed to pay restitution to Chaussepied's family.^[72]

Iraq said it would rebuild the facility and France agreed, in principle, to aid in the reconstruction.^[73] Because of a mix of factors, including the Iran-Iraq War, international pressure and Iraqi payment problems, negotiations broke down in 1984 and France withdrew from the project.^[42][74] The Osirak facility remained in its damaged state until the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when it was completely destroyed by subsequent coalition air strikes, by the United States Air Force one of them being Package Q Strike.^[75] During the war, 100 out of 120 members of the Knesset signed a letter of appreciation to Menachem Begin, thanking him for ordering the attack on Osirak.^[76]

The attack took place approximately three weeks before the Israeli legislative election of 1981. Opposition leader Shimon Peres criticized the operation as a political ploy, which did not go over well with the electorate.^[12] Dan Perry writes that "the Osirak bombing – and Peres's poor political judgement in criticizing it – were crucial in turning the tide of what initially had seemed to be a hopeless election campaign for Likud".^[12] On 30 June, Likud was reelected in favor of Peres's Alignment party, winning by just one seat in the Knesset.^[12]

In 2009, the Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki demanded that Israel compensate Iraq for the destruction of the reactor.^[77] An Iraqi official asserted that Iraq's right to redress is supported by Resolution 487 adopted by the United Nations Security Council in response to the attack.^[77] In early 2010, The Siasat Daily, citing an unnamed Iraqi parliament member, reported that Iraqi officials had received word from the UN Secretariat that the Iraqi government is entitled to seek compensation from Israel for damage caused by the attack.^[78]

Assessment[link]

Israel claims that the attack impeded Iraq's nuclear ambitions by at least ten years.^[16] In an interview in 2005, Bill Clinton expressed support for the attack: "everybody talks about what the Israelis did at Osiraq, in 1981, which, I think, in retrospect, was a really good thing. You know, it kept Saddam from developing nuclear power."^[79] Louis René Beres wrote in 1995 that "[h]ad it not been for the brilliant raid at Osiraq, Saddam’s forces might have been equipped with atomic warheads in 1991."^[80]

In 2010, squad leader Ze'ev Raz said of the operation: "There was no doubt in the mind of the decision makers that we couldn't take a chance. We knew that the Iraqis could do exactly what we did in Dimona."^[81]

As early as the autumn of 1981, Kenneth Waltz discussed the fallout from the strike:

In striking Iraq, Israel showed that a preventive strike can be made, something that was not in doubt. Israel's act and its consequences however, make clear that the likelihood of useful accomplishment is low. Israel's strike increased the determination of Arabs to produce nuclear weapons. Arab states that may attempt to do so will now be all the more secretive and circumspect. Israel’s strike, far from foreclosing Iraq's nuclear future, gained her the support of some other Arab states in pursuing it. And despite Prime Minister Begin's vow to strike as often as need be, the risks in doing so would rise with each occasion.^[82]

Charles R. H. Tripp, in an interview for the 25th anniversary of the attack, described the bombing of Osirak as a variation of Israeli military doctrine beginning with the premiership of David Ben-Gurion, "advocating devastating pre-emptive strikes on Arab enemies."^[83] Tripp asserted, "the Osirak attack is an illegal way to behave—Resolution 487 established that—but it is an understandable way to behave if you are the Israeli military-security establishment."^[83]

Tom Moriarty, a military intelligence analyst for the United States Air Force, wrote in 2004 that Israel had "gambled that the strike would be within Iraq's threshold of tolerance." Moriarty argues that Iraq, already in the midst of a war with Iran, would not start a war with Israel at the same time and that its "threshold of tolerance was higher than normal."^[84]

Joseph Cirincione, then director of non-proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in 2006:

Israel had pulled off a remarkable military raid, striking targets with great precision over long distances. But the bombing set back Israel more than Iraq. It further harmed Israel's international reputation, later worsened by the ill-fated 1982 invasion of Lebanon, while making Iraq appear a victim of Israeli aggression.^[54]

By contrast, Iraqi researchers have stated that the Iraqi nuclear program simply went underground, diversified, and expanded.^[85] Khidir Hamza, an Iraqi nuclear scientist, made the following statement in an interview on CNN's Crossfire in 2003:

Israel—actually, what Israel [did] is that it got out the immediate danger out of the way. But it created a much larger danger in the longer range. What happened is that Saddam ordered us—we were 400 . . . scientists and technologists running the program. And when they bombed that reactor out, we had also invested $400 million. And the French reactor and the associated plans were from Italy. When they bombed it out we became 7,000 with a $10 billion investment for a secret, much larger underground program to make bomb material by enriching uranium. We dropped the reactor out totally, which was the plutonium for making nuclear weapons, and went directly into enriching uranium... They [Israel] estimated we'd make 7 kg [15 lb] of plutonium a year, which is enough for one bomb. And they get scared and bombed it out. Actually it was much less than this, and it would have taken a much longer time. But the program we built later in secret would make six bombs a year.^[85]

Similarly, the Iraqi nuclear scientist Imad Khadduri wrote in 2003 that the bombing of Osirak convinced the Iraqi leadership to initiate a full-fledged nuclear weapons program.^[86] United States Secretary of Defense William Perry stated in 1997 that Iraq refocused its nuclear weapons effort on producing highly enriched uranium after the raid.^[12] Its interest in acquiring plutonium as fissile material for weapons continued, but at a lower priority.^[12]

In the Duelfer Report, released by the Iraq Survey Group in 2004, it is stated that the Iraqi nuclear program "expanded considerably" with the purchase of the French reactor in 1976, and that "Israel’s bombing of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor spurred Saddam to build up Iraq's military to confront Israel in the early 1980s."^[87]

Bob Woodward, in the book State of Denial, writes:

Israeli intelligence were convinced that their strike in 1981 on the Osirak nuclear reactor about 10 miles outside Baghdad had ended Saddam's program. Instead [it initiated] covert funding for a nuclear program code-named 'PC3' involving 5.000 people testing and building ingredients for a nuclear bomb.^[88]

Richard K. Betts has noted that "there is no evidence that Israel's destruction of Osirak delayed Iraq's nuclear weapons program. The attack may actually have accelerated it."^[89] Dan Reiter has repeatedly pointed out^[90][91] that the attack was a dangerous failure: the bombed reactor had nothing to do with weapons research, while "the attack may have actually increased Saddam's commitment to acquiring weapons."^[91] In 2011, and basing herself on new Iraqi sources, Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer confirmed these conclusions about the attack: "it triggered a covert nuclear weapons program that did not previously exist, . . . a decade later Iraq stood on the threshold of a nuclear weapons capability. This case suggests that preventive attacks can increase the long-term proliferation risk posed by the targeted state."^[92] Elsewhere, she has observed:

The destruction of the Osiraq reactor did not delay the development of a nuclear weapons option because it [the reactor] was never intended to be part of such an effort. The French-supplied facility was subject to rigorous safeguards and designed to ensure that Iraq would not be able to produce weapons-grade plutonium. An examination of the reactor by Harvard physicist Richard Wilson after the attack concluded that the facility was not suited for production of weapons-grade plutonium. As a result, the attack did not reduce the risk that Iraq would develop nuclear weapons. On the contrary, it brought about a far more determined and focused effort to acquire nuclear weapons.^[93]

In 2012, it was similarly argued by scholars at the RAND Corporation that an "Israeli or American attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would make it more, not less, likely that the Iranian regime would decide to produce and deploy nuclear weapons. Such an attack would also make it more, not less, difficult to contain Iranian influence."^[94]

See also[link]

• Operation Wooden Leg — the Israeli Air Force's raid on Tunisia
• Operation Orchard — the Israeli airstrike on a purported Syrian nuclear target
• Stuxnet
• France-Iraq relations
• French support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war
• Iraq-Israel relations
• Nuclear weapons and Israel

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Amos Perlmutter, Michael I. Handel, Uri Bar-Joseph, Two Minutes Over Baghdad, ISBN 978-0-7146-8347-8
• Geoff Simons, Iraq: From Sumer to Saddam, ISBN 978-1-4039-1770-6
• Gary D. Solis, The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War, ISBN 978-0-521-87088-7
• United Nations Staff, Yearbook of the United Nations 1981, ISBN 978-0-8002-3756-1
• The 1982 World Book Year Book, ISBN 978-0-7166-0482-2
• Anthony Cordesman, Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction, ISBN 978-0-275-96528-0
• Bennett Ramberg, Nuclear Power Plants as Weapons for the Enemy: An Unrecognized Military Peril, ISBN 978-0-520-04969-7
• Sasha Polakow-Suransky, The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa, ISBN 978-0-375-42546-2
• Trita Parsi, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States, ISBN 978-0-300-12057-8
• Israel Stockman-Shomron, Israel, the Middle East and the Great Powers, ISBN 978-965-287-000-1
• Henry Shue, David Rhodin, Preemption: Military Action and Moral Justification, ISBN 978-0-19-923313-7
• Elaine Sciolino, The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the War in the Gulf, ISBN 978-0-471-54299-5
• Shirley V. Scott, Anthony Billingsley, Christopher Michaelsen, International Law and the Use of Force: A Documentary and Reference Guide, ISBN 978-0-313-36259-0
• Dan Perry, Israel and the Quest for Permanence, ISBN 978-0-7864-0645-6
• Shlomo Aloni, Israeli F-15 Eagle Units in Combat, ISBN 978-1-84603-047-5
• Fred Holroyd, Thinking about nuclear weapons: analyses and prescriptions, ISBN 978-0-7099-3775-3
• Richard C. Ragaini, International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies: 29th session, ISBN 978-981-238-586-4
• David Styan, France and Iraq: Oil, Arms and French Policy Making in the Middle East, ISBN 978-1-84511-045-1
• Leonard Spector, Proliferation Today, ISBN 978-0-394-72901-5
• Patrick Seale, Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East, ISBN 978-0-520-06976-3
• Allan D. Abbey, Journey of Hope: The Story of Ilan Ramon, Israel's First Astronaut, ISBN 978-965-229-316-9
• Trevor Dupuy, Paul Martell, Flawed Victory: Arab-Israeli Conflict and the 1982 War in Lebanon, ISBN 978-0-915979-07-3
• Ofira Seliktar, Divided We Stand: American Jews, Israel, and the Peace Process, ISBN 978-0-275-97408-4
• Peter A. Clausen, Nonproliferation and the National Interest: America's Response to the Spread of Nuclear Weapons, ISBN 978-0-06-501395-5
• David Krieger, The challenge of abolishing nuclear weapons, ISBN 978-1-4128-1036-4
• Seymour Hersh, The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy, ISBN 978-0-679-74331-6
• Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto, Battling Terrorism: Legal Perspectives On The Use Of Force And The War On Terror, ISBN 978-0-7546-4407-1
• H. H. A. Cooper, Terrorism and espionage in the Middle East: deception, displacement and denial, ISBN 978-0-7734-5866-6
• Barry Leonard, Technology Transfer to the Middle East,
• Sharad S. Chauhan, War on Iraq, ISBN 978-81-7648-478-7
• Bob Woodward, State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III, ISBN 978-0-7432-7223-0
• Imad Khadduri, Iraq's Nuclear Mirage, Memoirs and Delusions, ISBN 978-0-9733790-0-6
• Karl P. Mueller, Striking First: Preemptive and Preventive Attack in U.S. National Security Policy, ISBN 978-0-8330-3881-4
• Shai Feldman, Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control in the Middle East, ISBN 978-0-262-56108-2

Further reading[link]

• Yehuda Avner, The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership, ISBN 978-1-59264-278-6
• Timothy L. H. McCormack, Self-Defense in International Law: The Israeli Raid on the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor, ISBN 978-0-312-16279-5
• Rodger Claire, Raid on the Sun : Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb, ISBN 978-0-7679-1400-0
• Clinton Dan McKinnon, Dan McKinnon, Bullseye One Reactor, ISBN 978-0-941437-07-3

External links[link]

• HUD video recording from two F-16s, including hit of two bombs at 1:07, YouTube
• Attack on Iraq’s Nuke Plant, American Heritage
• Osiraq / Tammuz I, Federation of American Scientists
• Israel's Air Strike Against The Osiraq Reactor: A Retrospective (PDF), Temple International and Comparative Law Journal
• Osirak: Over the reactor, BBC News, 5 June 2006 (interview with pilots involved)
• Factfile: How Osirak was bombed, BBC News
• Operation Opera: An Ambiguous Success, Journal of Strategic Studies
• The Israeli aggression against the peaceful nuclear installations in Iraq : statement made by Dr. Sa'adoun Hammadi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, before the Security Council, 12 June 1981

Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias, during an interview with MuchMusic.
Background information
Birth name	Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler
Born	(1975-05-08) May 8, 1975 (age 37) Madrid, Spain
Genres	Pop, Latin pop, R&B, dance-pop, soft rock, rap
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, model
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Fonovisa, Interscope, Universal Music Latino, Universal Republic, Polydor
Website	www.enriqueiglesias.com

Enrique Iglesias (born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler; May 8, 1975) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and occasional actor, popular in both the Latin market and the Hispanic American market in the United States. He is the son of the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. Within five years of beginning his musical career in the 1990s, he became the biggest seller of Spanish-language albums of that decade. He made his crossover into the mainstream English language market before the turn of the millennium, signing a multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$50,000,000 with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.

Iglesias has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling Spanish language artists of all time.^[1] He has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones, and holds the record for producing 22 number-one Spanish-language singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks.^[2] He has also had ten number-one songs on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other single male artist. Altogether, Iglesias has amassed 55 number-one hits on the various Billboard charts. Billboard has called him The King of Latin Pop and The King of Dance. Billboard also named Enrique the number two Latin artist of the years 1986–2011 (Luis Miguel taking the first spot).^[3]

Early life[link]

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain,^[4] and is the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is Filipina^[5][6] and his father is of Spanish ancestry from Galicia.^[7][8] His parents' marriage was annulled in 1979.

In 1986, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by the armed Basque terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother, Julio Iglesias, Jr., were sent to live with their father in Miami.^[9] He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother.^[10] As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended the prestigious Gulliver Preparatory School, where he made his singing debut in a production of Hello, Dolly!.^[11] Iglesias later went on to study business at the University of Miami.^[12]

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed the Mexican label Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he traveled to Toronto to record his first album.^[13]

Music career[link]

[edit] 1995–96: Enrique Iglesias

On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including hits such as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English, going Gold in Portugal within the first week of release, and sold over a million copies in the next three months.^[11]

His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte daría mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí", and "Trapecista" topped the Billboard's Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

[edit] 1997–99: Vivir and Cosas Del Amor

Iglesias with Ronald McDonald in 1999, his Cosas del Amor tour was sponsored by McDonald's.

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

Insisting on playing stadiums for his first concert tour, that summer, Iglesias , backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.^[14]

In 1998, Iglesias released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's.

He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.

[edit] 1999–2000: Enrique

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin and Selena, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. After attending one of his concerts Will Smith asked Iglesias to contribute to the soundtrack of his movie Wild Wild West, his contribution "Bailamos" was released as a single and became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Iglesias. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete. It contained the song Rhythm Divine, a duet with Whitney Houston entitled "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes".

In 2000 Iglesias performed at the Superbowl halftime show with Christina Aguilara. Shock jock Howard Stern repeatedly played a tape of a supposedly very off-key Iglesias on his radio show and accused the Iglesias of not being able to sing live. On June 8th 2000 Iglesias sang the song live on Stern's show with just a guitar accompanying him. After the performance Stern remarked "I respect you for coming in here; you really can sing".^[15] Iglesias would remark that the controversy was the best promotion he could have. The album's single Be With You became Iglesias's second #1 single on Billboard's Hot 100.

[edit] 2001–02: Escape

In 2001 Iglesias released his second English language album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off The Lights" became radio staples, fairing well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of Iglesias's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off The Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[edit] 2002–04: Quizás & 7

In 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish language song to do so.^[16]

The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on one of MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

By 2003 Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence (the chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents did not believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career). The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

[edit] 2007–08: Insomniac

Iglesias performing on August 29, 2007.

Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a hit throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was #1 on Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC, where the Spanish version also performed well. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was #1 in France for eleven weeks.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital [Damas] and in the same week performed on Live Earth in [Hamburg].

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.

A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Iglesias's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament.^[17] He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria.^[18] The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.

[edit] 2008–09: Greatest Hits albums

Iglesias released a Spanish Greatest Hits album on March 25, 2008 which included his seventeen #1 songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th #1 single on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin Albums Chart and #18 on the overall Billboard 200 albums chart. It was Iglesias's second Spanish album to debut in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 (Quizás debuted at #12 in 2002). The album was certified double Platinum (Latin field) in the U.S. and in some Latin American countries.

The album's second single "Lloro Por Ti" had an official remix featuring Wisin & Yandel which also reached #1. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" featuring Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" featuring Ciara.^[19]

The compilation includes English hit songs such as "Bailamos", "Hero", "Be with You", "Not in Love" and "Escape" which have topped various Billboard charts (two of which did so on the Hot 100) as well as songs such as "Rhythm Divine", "Tired of Being Sorry" and "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)", which have also topped charts in Europe.

After the successful collaboration with Nadiya Iglesias has recorded a second duet with her called "Miss You" which featured on a deluxe edition of the album.

The album debuted at #3 on the official UK Albums Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first two weeks of release alone.

Iglesias was the winner of two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.

[edit] 2010–present: Euphoria

Earlier in 2010, Iglesias featured in the charity song We Are the World 25 for Haiti along with 25 other top artists from USA in order to raise funds for the Earthquake hit Haiti area. It was produced by Quincy Jones, and executively produced by Lionel Richie, and Haitian-American musician Wyclef Jean. Enrique also recorded the song "It Must Be Love" for the album Download to Donate for Haiti for the same cause.

On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth and tenth studio albums, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias's first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs.^[20] The album has won Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Album, Billboard Latin Award for Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year and was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Iglesias worked with three (actually four but one isn't mentioned) producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Ludacris, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin & Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.

The first English single from the album, "I Like It", which features the rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart.^[21][22]

As of January 2011 "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts reaching no 4.^[23] The song was released only for digital download in the U.S. although was featured on some Editions of "Euphoria" in Europe and some Asian areas. The song has became his first #1 on the US Pop Songs and Hot 100 airplay Charts.^[24]

A remix version of "Dirty Dancer" was released and became his ninth Dance Club play chart topper making him the male with the most number-one dance singles. tying with Prince & Michael Jackson.^[25][26] "Ayer" serves as the albums seventh single.

The Euphoria Tour has taken him across the US, Canada UK and Europe. A second which has taken him to Australia will include leg will include fellow artists Pitbull and Prince Royce and will be across North America. Iglesias was finalizing production for an extension to Euphoria, titled Euphoria Reloaded, however due to the poor commercial performance of I Like How It Feels featuring rapper Pitbull, plans of the rerelease were cut.The song topped the Billboard Hot Dance-Club Songs,making him the male artist with most number-one dance singles. Iglesias has recently collaborated with Dev on a song called "Naked". It was released on iTunes on December 20, 2011. This song was written by Iglesias.

Iglesias announced on 30 April, 2012 in a press conference at Boulevard3 that he would go on a joint world tour titled Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias in Concert with Jennifer Lopez & Wisin & Yandel. The trek is presented by State Farm Insurance and promoted by AEG Live. ^[27]

On May 22, 2012 Iglesias performed at the first Q102 Springle Ball 2012 concert, among the songs he performed were "Tonight I'm Loving You", "Hero", and "I Like It".

Songwriting, producing, and acting[link]

Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Bocelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day of My Life" and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single "The Way" for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies' current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists. In 2010 Idol Allstars 2010 (Swedish Idol Series) released a song "All I Need Is You" co-written by Iglesias with Andreas Carlsson, Kalle Engström and Kristian Lundin. It went straight to iTunes #1.

In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Richie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.

Iglesias also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had guest starred in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men as a carpenter/handyman. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest of Robin in season 3 of the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. He's also starred in commercials for Tommy Hilfiger, Doritos and for Viceroy watches.

Personal life[link]

Iglesias started dating tennis player Anna Kournikova in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Enrique Iglesias was quoted (incorrectly, as he would clarify later) in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up^{[citation needed]}. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation^{[citation needed]}. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated.^[28] In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• Enrique Iglesias (1995)
• Vivir (1997)
• Cosas del Amor (1998)
• Enrique (1999)
• Escape (2001)
• Quizás (2002)
• 7 (2003)
• Insomniac (2007)
• Euphoria (2010)

Filmography[link]

Tours[link]

• Vivir World Tour (1997)
• Enrique World Tour (2000)
• One Night Stand World Tour (2002)
• Insomniac World Tour (2007)
• Greatest Hits Tour (2009)
• Euphoria Tour (2010-12)
• Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias in Concert (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

• Enrique Iglesias is one of the most celebrated Latin musical artists of all time. He has won 16 Billboard Music Awards and 23 Billboard Latin Music Awards, as well as 5 American Music Awards, a Grammy, a Latin Grammy and 7 World Music Awards. He also won an award for Best International Pop Act at the MTV India Awards. As well as being named "King of Latin Pop", he has won 15 Premios Lo Nuestro awards. In 2000, he was also awarded Most Fashionable Artist at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. In 2001, for the release of his second English studio album Escape, he received awards for Best-Selling Pop Male Artist and European Male Artist at the World Music Awards.^[29] Iglesias also won an award for Most Successful Spanish Artist of the Decade at Premios Ondas in 2002.

See also[link]

Latin American music portal

• List of best-selling Latin artists
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best-selling singles worldwide

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enrique Iglesias

• Enrique Iglesias at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Enrique Iglesias website
• Official Interscope Records website
• Enrique Iglesias on Myspace
• Enrique Iglesias's channel on YouTube
• Enrique Iglesias on Facebook
• Enrique Iglesias profile at NNDB

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.