Читать книгу The Blade of Gilgamesh - Jeff Edwards - Страница 6

1986

At 2.00am local time on the 15th of April, 1986, a strike force of eighteen F-111F aircraft, together with numerous air support war-planes, launched a strike upon various targets within Libya.

The raid, ordered by President Ronald Reagan, was in retaliation for the Libyan support of various extremist groups throughout the world who were carrying out terrorist attacks on innocent members of society.

It was also intended to warn Libya that their efforts to become a nuclear power must be curtailed.

The primary aim of the attack was to kill President Muammar Gaddafi, and while the raid was carried out with precision the bombers failed to achieve their goal.

It was later determined that Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi had forewarned Gaddafi of the impending attack and this allowed Gaddafi and his family to escape moments before the bombers arrived.

While the attack did not gain the immediate results Reagan planned, it did have far reaching consequences, and an outcome that few could envision.

However, these actions did not herald the origins of our history. For the genesis of this story we must travel back to a place before words were written down and word of mouth gave rise to legends.