Somebody's gotta do them
Posted on 10/13/2007 9:10:32 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - An Israeli airstrike on Syria last month targeted a partially built nuclear reactor that was years away from completion, the New York Times reported Saturday, citing U.S. and foreign officials.
The report said President Bush's administration had intense discussions with the Israeli government before the strike and U.S. officials were divided over whether it would be premature.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has said Israel bombed an "unused military building" in the Sept. 6 raid. Israel has been extremely secretive about the affair. It only recently relaxed censorship to allow Israel-based journalists to report that Israeli aircraft attacked a military target deep inside Syria.
In the weeks that followed the attack, U.S. officials said it was aimed either at a nuclear or missile facility that Syria operated jointly with North Korea.
The New York Times said the nuclear reactor was modeled on one North Korea had used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, though the role of any North Korean assistance in building it remains unclear. North Korea has denied involvement in any such activities in Syria.
Satellite photographs detected the partly constructed Syrian reactor earlier this year, the Times said, citing American officials.
The Syrian reactor was years away from be able to produce the spent nuclear fuel that could be reprocessed into bomb-grade plutonium, the newspaper said.
Syria's nuclear program has long been considered minimal, and the country is known to have only a small research reactor.
The New York Times cited American officials as saying Israel's strike may have been intended as a signal to Iran and its nuclear aspirations. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor being built by Saddam Hussein's regime.
The White House and Israeli officials declined to comment on the report.
Israel saves the world again. Yet the world continues to condemn them
Thanks to Israel for taking care of business.
Semi-official confirmation of something everybody new anyway?
Now it's further away.
Not everyONE in the world (certainly not me!), but some countries mistakenly do.
We know the Syrian government’s claim it was an empty building is false since if it was an easy site to restage as a baby milk factory or children’s hospital [or even a plain ol’ empty building] they would have called in the prop crew to stage it, brought in some victims and then brought in loads of reporters to film the “carnage.”
Good... Couldn't happen to a "nicer" nuclear facility ;-) either! Bub-bye
ExACTly!
Yes it could, think there’s one in Iran that needs attention.
Uh, the intention was aginst Syria.
Doing the work our Congress just won't do - ;-)
AND...If they don't watch out, the PAJAMAHADEEN will be after them, too!
But probably not from being used for cover to explain the presence of the Nuclear Material that came to Iraq via Africa courtesy of the Russian army's expedited shipping assistance. The WMD’s were there and someone needs to stand up and say so.
Could be, or it could be what someone, somewhere wants the world in general to think happened. Probably what really happened bears little resemblance to this story. This does originate with the New York Slimes after all. You know the folks who made the space for the "General Betray US" ad available to MoveOn.org at a deep, deep discount.
I wouldn't believe them if they said the sky is blue, without going out and verifying it for myself.
The story does not account for the Israeli raid coming just a couple of days after a North Korean ship docked in a Syrian port and transfered what ever it was carrying to the bunker site.
Something was in that shipment that made it urgent that the Israeli's to act quickly. Reactor fuel or parts for a reactor to be completed in years did not demand that urgency.
Whatever happened, you cannot discount its possible relationship to the failed Syrian Scud missile warhead loading in late July that killed a couple of dozen Iranian and Syrian technicians with what is thought to be posgene or VX gas. Was that to be a strike on Israel?
My guess is that this might have been an attempt to take DPRK nuclear material and turn it into a warhead, probably a dirty bomb, and....give it another try.
The threats have been flying for several years - the backers of Assad and Ahmadinejad may be getting restless for an actual attempt to "wipe Israel off the map".
To your first point, our speculation, no matter how plausible, does not count as nowing (knowing).
To your tag line; The first group hated free people for our intellectual, ethnic and racial impurities --- the second group hates free people for our religious piety and perceived material waste --- the third group hates free people for our secularism and perceived decadence! What the common denominator? We're always wrong and they're always right. They're brilliant and we are all idiots. If only we read their important books we couldn't or wouldn't be so stupid. Until we do, or if we don't, it's OK to kill us. Here's another common denominator. Elitists usually shut up when they meet and talk to someone who has read their books but have plenty of evidence to refute what they say. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer people listening to each other. Allies are ignoring each other. Allies are ignoring their enemies. Political opponents are pandering for decreasing powers they're diminishing.
The situation (in the Middle East) may get worse before it gets better... never forget though that honesty wins. Nazis, Communist and Islamists are all lying to us, to themselves and to each other. They're not fighting us to the death. They're fighting the truth and killing us to prevent truth from spreading. Maybe they'll take some us with them... but more than likely, we'll outlive their violent absurdities.
good work.
message to iran.
Exactly my reaction. I guess the Times wanted them to wait until the situation was dangerous before they reacted to it . Glad to see the Jews still have some balls left. I was wondering lately . Good for them , we should learn a lesson here.
†Israel has been extremely secretive about the affair. It only recently relaxed censorship to allow Israel-based journalists to report that Israeli aircraft attacked a military target deep inside Syria. “ in which it should have, and should be in this country in our own military actions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.