Posted on 10/23/2007 5:08:02 AM PDT by AU72
If people had known how close we came to World War III that day there would have been mass panic. That is how a very senior British ministerial source recently characterized Israel’s September raid on what was apparently a Syrian nuclear installation. Whether matters were quite that grave is an open question. Yet it does seem clear that the full story of the Israeli raid has not been told, nor its full significance recognized. Now two key members of Congress have raised an alarm about this event, thereby throwing our nuclear agreement with North Korea into question.
Briefings Peter Hoekstra and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as senior Republicans on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees, respectively, were among the mere handful of members of Congress briefed on the Israeli air strike. What they learned obviously dismayed them greatly, as is evident from “What Happened in Syria?” a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published by Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen this past Saturday.
In that piece, Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen protest the “unprecedented veil of secrecy, thrown over the airstrike” noting that the vast majority of foreign relations and intelligence committee members have been left in the dark on the details of the raid. Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen acknowledge that they have personally been “sworn to secrecy,” yet add that: “...based on what we have learned...it is critical for every member of congress to be briefed on this incident, and as soon as possible.”
Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen obviously believe that Syria obtained “nuclear expertise or material” from outside state sources. And while they base their concern on press reports, it seems likely that their top-secret briefings confirmed this fact. Notable here is Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen’s repeated use of the phrase “North Korea, Iran, or other rogue states” when referring to Syria’s possible nuclear collaborators. After their briefing, Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen seem just as concerned about Iranian involvement as North Korean.
Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen protest the administration’s willingness to provide the press with anonymous information on background, “to shape this story to its liking,” while keeping members of Congress in the dark. “We believe this is unacceptable,” they say, noting that the administration has ignored numerous letters from Congress asking that all members be briefed. Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen specifically express concerns about two administration-influenced stories in the New York Times and one in The Washington Post. Finally, Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen threaten to oppose any nuclear deal with North Korea unless all members of congress are briefed on the reasons for the Israeli raid.
While the secrecy that surrounds this issue forces us to read between the lines, two broad factual questions emerge from Hoekstra’s and Ros-Lehtinen’s oped. First, in what sense has the administration been shaping (or misshaping) the Syria story to its liking? Second, is there more to this story than recent press reports have indicated?
North Korea’s Role Consider one of the articles singled out by Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen, an Oct. 14 New York Times story by David Sanger and Mark Mazzetti.
While this story confirmed that Israel had struck “a partially completed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel,” the article also raises doubts: “...American and foreign officials would not say whether they believed the North Koreans sold or gave plans to the Syrians, or whether the North’s own experts were there at the time of the attack. It is possible, some officials said, that the transfer of the technology occurred several years ago.”
Yet the suggestion that North Korean personnel might not have been involved in the ongoing construction of the reactor contradicts a New York Times story of October 9, just a few days before, which said that within the administration “there appears to be little debate that North Koreans frequently visited a site in the Syrian Desert that Israeli jets attacked Sept. 6.” The story on October 9 was that the North Koreans were surely present at the Syrian installation, but that the nuclear nature of the site was less certain. Once nuclear activity at the site was confirmed by the Times on October 14, however, administration sources on background apparently did their best to foster uncertainty about North Korean involvement. In other words, if the Koreans are there, it might not be nuclear, and if it’s nuclear, the Koreans might not be there.
The point is that the administration is subtly attempting to cast doubt on any reported link between North Korea and the Syrian reactor (without directly denying such a link). Otherwise it would become obvious that North Korea is flagrantly violating its nuclear agreement with the United States. Apparently, their secret briefing has led Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen to believe that the administration is obfuscating the reality of North Korean proliferation, in order to preserve the six-party deal.
In fact, from the beginning until the present, press reports have given strong indications of ongoing North Korean involvement in the Syrian nuclear project. One of the first reports (and still arguably the most extensive and important report) on the raid, from the London Sunday Times of Sept. 16, quoted Andrew Semmel, who was the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy. Speaking of Syria’s nuclear project, Semmel was asked if North Korean technicians were present there. Semmel replied, “There are North Korean people there. There’s no question about that.”
Another Sunday Times piece, of Sept. 23, offered further evidence of North Korean involvement. Israeli intelligence had suggested to the administration over the summer that North Korean personnel were at the Syrian site, said the Sunday Times. In fact, Israeli defense sources were said to have taken to referring to the target site as the “North Korean project.” The Sunday Times also noted the unusual stridency of North Korea’s condemnations of an event so far from East Asia. In a sense, the North Koreans were outing themselves by their protests. The Sunday Times also reported that diplomats stationed in North Korea and China, based on intelligence reports reaching Asian governments, believed that a number of North Koreans had actually been killed in the raid.
More recent reports have taken up the same theme. On October 7, Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland noted that a senior official with access to highly classified intelligence reports said that “...the Israelis destroyed a nuclear-related facility and caused North Korean casualties at the site....” And October 19, ABC News quoted “a senior U.S. official claiming that the Syrians could not have built their reactor without North Korean ‘expertise,’ meaning that ‘the Syrians must have had ‘human’ help from North Korea.’”
If these reports are true, Hoekstra’s and Ros-Lehtinen’s concerns about efforts by the administration to lead the press away from the North Korean connection (without explicitly denying it), is completely understandable. Again, Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen appear to fear that the administration’s now dominant policy-making faction (led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates) is trying to protect the six-party agreement by suppressing the reality of North Korean proliferation.
Iran’s Role What about Iran? As noted, the persistent and strong emphasis Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen place on possible Iranian participation in the Syrian nuclear program can’t help but make us suspect that their secret briefing contained reports of Iranian involvement. Yet Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen refer to press reports of an Iranian role, and there are some such reports.
Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton has expressed concerns that both North Korea and Iran may be “outsourcing” their nuclear programs in Syria. We know that Syria has served as a conduit for North Korean shipments of missile components to Iran, and there are concerns that North Korean nuclear material may have taken the same route (see Sunday Times, Sept. 16). On Sept. 12, a New York Times report said “The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little [nuclear material] they have left.” A useful recent overview of the Israeli raid titled “How close were we to a third world war?” adds an important bit of new information based on earlier reports in the Kuwaiti press. Ali Rheza Ali, a former Iranian deputy defense minister who defected several months ago, supplied intelligence sources in the West with information about the site targeted by the Israelis. Of course, that knowledge would imply close Iranian involvement in Korea’s nuclear project. (For more on possible Iranian involvement, see my “Deterrence Lost.”)
Distress over North Korean and Iranian involvement in nuclear proliferation to Syria — possibly as a way of hiding their own nuclear programs from the United States — would certainly make sense of Hoekstra’s and Ros-Lehtinen’s public complaint. Yet there may be more at work. The American press reports cited by Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen have so far seemed to confirm only the existence of a “nascent” plutonium reactor modeled on North Korea’s facility at Yongbyon, a construction project that could take as many as three to six years to complete (see NYT Oct. 14). While Syrian wrath at Israel’s destruction of even a nascent nuclear reactor could certainly have led to a retaliatory attack and general war in the Middle East, worries over a potential “world war three” caused by Israel’s destruction of a reactor three to six years from completion seem a bit overblown. These worries might make more sense if there is something more to this story than what American news sources have confirmed.
Warhead? Several early and unconfirmed reports on the Israeli raid point to the possibility that in the days immediately before the airstrike, the North Koreans may have shipped a cache of fissile material — possibly including a nuclear warhead — to Syria. According to the Sept. 16 Sunday Times, preparations for the attack began when the head of Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, presented Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with evidence that “Syria was seeking to buy a nuclear device from North Korea.” The fear was that the warhead would be fitted atop one of Syria’s North Korean-made Scud-C missiles, already armed with North Korean designed chemical warheads. “This was supposed to be a devastating surprise,” said an Israeli source, “Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead.” The Sept. 16 Sunday Times goes on to connect the warhead story with a Washington Post report that the raid was linked to “the arrival three days earlier of a ship carrying North Korean material labeled as cement but suspected of concealing nuclear equipment.”
A “nascent” nuclear reactor, three-to-six years from completion, does not give off radiation. Yet the London Sunday Times reported on Sept. 23 that Israeli commandos seized samples of nuclear material and returned them to Israel for examination. “A laboratory confirmed that the unspecified material was North Korean in origin.” The Washington Post’s Jim Hoagland reported on October 7 that a senior official with access to highly classified intelligence reports said that the Israelis provided the United States with “physical material and soil samples from the site — taken both before and after the raid.” Soil samples are commonly used to confirm the presence of fissile material.
Here is where we begin to see potential contradictions, or at least difficulties. Some stories speak of nuclear material or even warheads, while other stories refer only to an incomplete reactor, and even deny that fissile material was present at all. For example, the ABC story of Oct. 19, claims that “no fissionable material was found because the facility was not yet operating.” The U.S. hesitated to approve the attack, according to this report, precisely because of the lack of fissionable material. While the ultimate nuclear intentions for the site were “unmistakable,” the U.S. apparently worried that it would be challenged without the sort of absolute proof provided by fissionable material.
Reactor and More? Yet reports that fissionable material of some sort was involved in the raid persist, and there are a ways in which these reports could be reconciled with the ABC story. The October third edition of Britain’s Spectator carried a more detailed account of the fate of the North Korean shipment of “cement” than earlier reports. This is the same article, by the way, in which “a very senior British ministerial source” said we’d come close to “world war three that day.”
According to the Spectator, the Israelis tracked the North Korean “cement” shipment to the same site that had already been under intense Israeli surveillance as a possible nuclear installation (i.e. the incomplete reactor). It was at this point, just days before the attack, that elite Israeli commandoes were dispatched to collect the soil samples that indicated the ship cargo had been nuclear (and, according to the London Sunday Times, of North Korean origin). So it’s possible that the ABC report and the report from the Spectator could both be correct. The U.S. may have worried through the summer months about attacking the nascent reactor because of the lack of fissile material (and also for fear of what a raid would do to the six-party talks). Yet the arrival of the North Korean shipment of “cement” three days before the attack, and the subsequent Israeli soil samples, may have turned the tide and led the U.S. to approve what the Israelis at that point surely felt compelled to do.
Conclusions Our examination of diverse news accounts of the Israeli raid on the Syrian nuclear facility yields several conclusions. First, there is significant evidence of ongoing and recent North Korean involvement. Especially given the informed criticisms of Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen, apparent efforts by select administration sources to downplay North Korean involvement appear unconvincing. Second, especially in light of the informed concerns expressed by Hoekstra and Ros-Lehtinen, but also in light of press accounts, there is reason to fear significant Iranian involvement in Syria’s nuclear program, either as a facilitator, as a destination for North Korean nuclear material transiting Syria, or both. Third, there is at least some significant evidence for direct North Korean transfer of fissile material — perhaps even a nuclear warhead — to Syria and/or Iran. That, of course, would constitute the most serious possible violation of the six-party agreement, and would be a grave threat to the security of the United States and the world.
In light of this evidence, should Congress now oppose America’s nuclear agreement with North Korea? And along with North Korea, should Iran be held to account in this affair? Perhaps. In any case, based on an analysis of press reports, and on the informed protests of Representatives Peter Hoekstra and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, it’s clear that we need more open information before we can confidently sign on to the six-party agreement. At a minimum, the scope of congressional briefings on the Israeli raid needs to
“...thereby throwing our nuclear agreement with North Korea into question.?
Yeah, if NK can’t offshore their nuke development to a terrorist-sponsoring country, then they may not make any more agreements with us to stop developing nukes.
We’re dealing with evil.
We need glass parking lots.
Lots of em.
I think it’s clear that Israel is not going to stand by while Iran goes nuclear. They are the real canary in the coal mine on the Iranian nuclear issue. If this is proof, we can assume that Iran does not have a weapon - YET. But watch the public declarations of Israel. They are sounding the alarm that Iran is dangerously close to reaching critical mass.
Amadinejad’s scamper back from Armenia could be directly related to this unfolding crisis.
Why are we so convinced that the Israelis actually performed this strike, or performed it with conventional (F15) aircraft?
I have trouble believing that even IDF pilots, good as they are, could fly completely across Syria, hit the reactor, and get back home undetected.
This leaves me with two possibilities:
1. The Israelis didn’t do it at all - we did, but we gave the Israelis credit for it.
2. The Israelis have Stealth fighters that they haven’t admitted to yet.
Option 1 seems more plausible.
Very possible and highly probable. If you look at the list of protests, they are at the top of the list. Syria protested, but then shut the hell up right after. DPRK has registered “strong complaints” with the UN and the US and Israelis.
I think not only were they there, they were killed dead on the site.
We must have the most credulous, gullible and naive State Departments in the history of the world. They are continuously and genuinely surprised that oppressive, fanatical dictators happen to be dishonest too.
Do you morons really believe that N. Korea ever had any intention of keeping its word???
How completely pathetic.
The important points this story brings up are these:
The two Reps and others, “among the mere handful of members of Congress briefed on the Israeli air strike.” Who? Pelosi? Reid? It is evident that they were likely among those briefed, and their silence is telling.
The rats are utterly unable to say a thing about this raid because it absolutely destroys their credibility (as if they had any left) on a host of points they stubbornly cling to, and because it would call into question their repeated denials of “no WMD, Bush Lied” as the plainly shameful political lie that it was.
The raid, to make a small pun, is radioactive.
Another point is the evident deepening rift within the Administration between the Cheney faction and the Rice faction. If Condi is as sold on these apparently futile Six Party Talks as she seems to be, she may become a big liability very soon. It is dangerous to have a fool in the position of Secretary of State. We have already suffered Maddy the Fat. That was bad enough. Condi should not deepen her errors by continuing to play games with liars. That is a pointless game, and only a fool would play it for real stakes.
Don’t be a fool, Condi.
Lastly, This episode shows that the Bush folks are fully willing to fight as they see fit and not really bother with the niceties of worrying about the MSM. They will just motor on in the darkness. I am now quite curious as to what other operations have gone down without any public splash, and which senior rat congressional people were briefed on. How do they later explain away that they had deliberatly lied about things they demonstrably knew were false? Their MSM allies will run as much interference for them as they can, but the truth does eventually win out.
We shall see...
The Sunday Times also reported that diplomats stationed in North Korea and China, based on intelligence reports reaching Asian governments, believed that a number of North Koreans had actually been killed in the raid.
Condi is not a fool. If this can be resolved diplomatically (real diplomacy, not handwaving for public consumption), then by all means defeat them without a shot - as Sun-Tsu advocated long ago. Going “hot” makes a biiiiig mess. This exercise may have been a demonstration of capabilities, intended to convince others “don’t go there”.
I agree with this assessment, and I agree also that this presents us with an extremely dangerous situation.
RE: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - I have observed her for the past several years and I think that she is one sharp lady and a tremendously under-utilized asset to this country. For example, for several reasons, I believe she would be a devastatingly effective choice as a Vice-Presidential candidate for the GOP ticket.
With respect, Condi Rice has demonstrated beyond all question that she is most assuredly a fool. If she had been able to have her way this "demonstration" would not have happened at all.
What amazes me is that Israeli commandos went on the ground and took soil samples - both before and after the strike. Now that takes some serious testosterone.
I reserve judgement on whether she is a certified fool. The evidence so far is not promising, however...
Certainly Master Sun is quite correct. He always has been. It is important to look at other lessons to see that it is never good to leave your enemies intact. Condi is attempting to make agreements to which we are bound, and they are not monitored, which is as much as saying they are not bound, for no reason other than seemingly to have “an Agreement.” Thus, a zero-sum game with Western Civilization as the chumps.
Supposing I am entirely wrong and she does forge an Agreement that serves to end the ambitions of DPRK, Iran, Syria in the nuclear realm (I do not believe for a second that this will happen), what happens on 21 January 2009? Will President Hillary and her new Secretary of State Sandy Berger be as uncompromising?
Would the game of DPRK, Iran, Syria be Mao’s old gambit? Fight, talk. Talk, fight? It is the precise way to attack a democracy and, considering the traitors and fools which make up the rats and their allies in the MSM, a most effective one.
Condi’s game may be in the manner of Master Sun’s lesson of “always leave a way of retreat for your enemy” in that we are with the one hand smacking their nose and with the other showing them the way to not being smacked again. However, this strategy has a time limit and an effectiveness horizon of however long it is until Hillary takes the Oath. Then they are free to do as they wish.
Were there a credible belief that the rats are aware and prepared to deal with external threats to Western Civilization, diplomacy would be a viable option to going “hot.” Sadly, repeated examples of a complete inability to deal with or even recognize these threats is the standard of the rats.
We live in interesting times...
I have a new, Tom Jones / Country and Western song for the Iranians who live near their nuc plant.
“as they lay me neath the Green Green GLASS of Home.”
There was no nuclear device in Syria. Just a reactor under construction.
The bigger news is that non-U.S. air defense systems don’t work. Israel went *deep* into Syria without a scratch.
The Syrians detected the Israeli aircraft, tracked the Israeli long-range fuel tanks as they dropped into Turkey (where they were recovered within days), and fired at least 4 ground to air missiles at the Israeli F-15’s.
They just didn’t get any hits (which is unacceptable when you are defending the heart of your own territory - and a high value target in said territory at that).
The above facts do not support a “stealth” argument.
bttt
How wise the Monday morning quarterbacks are.
This was, I suspect, exactly Sharon's plan.
Warhead? Several early and unconfirmed reports on the Israeli raid point to the possibility that in the days immediately before the airstrike, the North Koreans may have shipped a cache of fissile material — possibly including a nuclear warhead — to Syria.
You can’t just carry a warhead out of Syria into Turkey - you need a truck. Now I’m wondering if slam-Turkey-over-Armenia thing was a rat retaliation for Turkish assistance in 9/6.
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