DID ISRAEL DESTROY A SYRIAN NUCLEAR SITE?

[Tigermike 3,055]

Notes & Comments

By Clifford D. May

September 18, 2007

DID ISRAEL DESTROY A SYRIAN NUCLEAR SITE? Earlier this month, Israeli jets penetrated Syrian airspace and destroyed...what? The Times of London reports:

Intelligence sources suggested it was a highly successful Israeli raid on nuclear material supplied by North Korea. ...

"This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel," said an Israeli source. "We've known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can't live with a nuclear warhead."

FDD's Peter Pham notes:

Both sides have been unusually reticent in their comments concerning the September 6 raid, although claims by Damascus that its air defenses engaged the Israelis and forced them to drop fuel tanks makes no sense: Israeli aircraft don't need auxiliary tanks to make it over the border into Syria. The Washington Post reported that three days before the Israeli raid, a North Korean ship docked in Syria purportedly carrying a load of cement -- a cargo manifest that no one takes seriously.

The Times adds:

North Korea is accused of nuclear cooperation with Syria, helped by AQ Khan's network. John Bolton, who was undersecretary for arms control at the State Department, told the United Nations in 2004 the Pakistani nuclear scientist had "several other" customers besides Iran, Libya and North Korea. ...

By its actions, Israel showed it is not interested in waiting for diplomacy to work where nuclear weapons are at stake.

As a bonus, the Israelis proved they could penetrate the Syrian air defence system, which is stronger than the one protecting Iranian nuclear sites.

This weekend President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran sent Ali Akbar Mehrabian, his nephew, to Syria to assess the damage.

Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’

Secret raid on Korean shipment

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle2461421.ece

,,,,,,three days before the Israeli raid, a North Korean ship docked in Syria purportedly carrying a load of cement—a cargo manifest that no one takes seriously. Very interesting...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7091402207.html

What Did Israel Really Attack in Syria?

http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/09/what_did_i...ally_attack.php

Rumors of War

Israel’s air force incursion into Syria and the potential for a Syria-Israel war

http://transatlanticinstitute.org/html/pu_...les.html?id=381

TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY: MEMRI reports that, in several recent speeches, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has "outlined Iran's nuclear policy and set forth his vision regarding the interrelationship between Iran and the West." For example:

In a speech about Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad declared that Iran has become a global power, and that it would place its nuclear technology at the service of those determined to confront the U.S. and other Western countries. ...Ahmadinejad also harshly censured senior Iranian officials who had called for compromise with the West on Iran's nuclear program out of fear of a possible U.S. attack on Iran, hinting that they were traitors.

In addition, Ahmadinejad declared that today, the world was at an historic turning point. The history of the West, he said, had reached its end, and the appearance of the Hidden Imam, heralding the era of Islamic Shi'ite rule, was nigh, thus, he called on the nations of the world to rise up against the hegemony of the West, headed by the U.S., and predicted the imminent collapse of Israel, which he called "Satan's standard-bearer."

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA171407

Even the French take them seriously.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the world should "prepare for the worst...(which) is war" over the Iranian nuclear crisis. He'd prefer a diplomatic solution but he's not optimistic.

France warning of war with Iran

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6997935.stm

Kouchner: Prepare for war over Iran crisis

French foreign minister says 'world should prepare for the worst' over Iranian nuclear crisis but stresses efforts to negotiate should be pursued 'right to the end'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3450010,00.html

[AURaptor 1,126]

I've not heard anything official. Sounds like they blew somethin up. Another report i heard was that it was a WMD cache and that dozens of soldiers ( syrian / iranian ) died in the aftermath.

[Captain Liger 0]

It's probably all the WMD rushed out of Iraq after we foolishly announced that we were coming...