Reagan as Diplomat

He is twice tested—by an ally's abrupt action and a vital neighbor's visit

It was 2:35 on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Camp David, fully three hours after U.S.-supplied Israeli warplanes had leveled Iraq's nuclear reactor, when the President, preparing to helicopter back to the White House after a relaxing weekend, got a telephone call. It was from Richard Allen, his National Security Adviser, giving a surprised and puzzled Reagan his first inkling of what the Israelis had done. "By golly," the President said, "what do you suppose is behind that?"

What was behind...