Even though he was soon equipped with an ironclad excuse from his scientists, the president chose not to hide the truth from himself. “We have a growing belief among our scientists that the Israelis did indeed conduct a nuclear test explosion in the ocean near the southern end of South Africa,” Carter recorded in his private diary . To most scientists, it was evident even then that one nation, or more, had tested a nuclear weapon on 22 September 1979. United States leaders, however, decided it was wise not to know more. They feared that the disclosure of the Israeli...