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The Syrian President surprised both Turkish and Arab public opinion when he advised Turkey on the importance of cultivating good relations with Israel, as this would allow Turkey to perform the role of mediator between Damascus and Tel Aviv. [Syrian] President Bashar al-Assad made this comment whilst answering a question put to him by the Turkish "Hurriyet" newspaper on whether he approved of Islamic countries having bad relations with Europe and Israel, or whether [Islamic] countries should cultivate good relations with Europe and coexist with Israel. Assad's answer was that "if Turkey wishes to help us on the subject of...

PARIS, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad relayed a message of support to his French counterpart as part of a broader effort to improve bilateral relations, Damascus said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem relayed the message to French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a bilateral meeting in Paris. The talks focused on the latest efforts at reaching a comprehensive and sustainable peace in the Middle East and what role Damascus had in that initiative, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports. Sarkozy has looked to exploit French relations in the region to lobby for a variety of regional efforts,...

Syrian President Bashar Assad's..visit was officially described as a goodwill trip to congratulate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his re-election as Iran's president. But what came out following Assad's meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was an idea for an unofficial quadripartite alliance between Syria and Iran, with Turkey and Iraq....Turkey has begun to accept the possibility that its European dreams are unlikely to materialize... Obama...appears determined to announce his Middle East peace plan next month in New York in the presence of both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas

Note: The following text is a quote: News American Forces Press Service Obama, Gates Lead Defense Acquisition Reforms By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2009 – President Barack Obama threw his weight behind the Defense Department’s acquisition reform efforts earlier this week, emphasizing that unnecessary spending hurts not only taxpayers, but also warfighters on the front lines. “Every dollar wasted in our defense budget is a dollar we can’t spend to care for our troops or protect America or prepare for the future,” the president told participants at the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ 110th convention, in...

Note: Photo included. # Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Khamenei Praises Syria's Resistance, Stresses Cooperation Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei yesterday praised Iran's key ally Syria for its "resistance" in the face of world powers, in a meeting in Iran with visiting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. "Syria’s most important characteristic among Arab countries is its steadfastness and resistance," Khamenei said, stressing Syria's "excellent standing" in the region. Khamenei said "the resistance front" in the Middle East "should strengthen its cooperation and ties... "America’s blade has become blunter in the region," Khamenei added. He continued, "The unity between...

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Obama administration gave Middle East envoy George Mitchell a treat to bring to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad when Mitchell stopped off in Damascus on Sunday: a presidential fiat will ease sanctions on Syria. According to the Journal, “the U.S. decision targets spare aircraft parts, information-technology products and telecommunications equipment, sales of which have been restricted by U.S. sanctions on Syria enacted in 2004.” All of which is very nice for the Assad family and Alawite-minority business that runs that country, while it helps their ally Iran export terrorism via Hamas and Hezbollah...

It turns out that there are second acts in international politics. Four years after the Bush administration severed diplomatic relations with Syria, in the aftermath of the Damascus regime’s suspected involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, the unofficial member of the “axis of evil” has received a warmer reception from the Bush administration’s successor. President Obama has expressed his intention to engage Syria, and the administration took a decisive step in that direction last month when it announced plans to send an ambassador to the country. But as the U.S. prepares to engage the Assad...

It turns out that there are second acts in international politics. Four years after the Bush administration severed diplomatic relations with Syria, in the aftermath of the Damascus regime’s suspected involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, the unofficial member of the “axis of evil” has received a warmer reception from the Bush administration’s successor. President Obama has expressed his intention to engage Syria, and the administration took a decisive step in that direction last month when it announced plans to send an ambassador to the country. But as the U.S. prepares to engage the Assad...

U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the United States and Syria began diplomatic contacts between them. However, he emphasized that he expects a long way ahead for the two countries. In an interview on the British Sky News TV channel to be broadcast Sunday, Obama didn’t explicitly state whether he would accept an invitation from Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. When asked whether he would accept Assad’s invitation for face-to-face negotiations, Obama said, “Well, you know I think that we've started to see some diplomatic contacts between the United States and Syria. There are aspects of Syrian behavior that trouble us...

Syria's first lady has put out the welcome mat for the Obamas, a further sign that the once frosty relations between the two nations is thawing. In an interview with Britain's Sky News, Asma al Assad envisioned her husband, Bashar, and Barack Obama joining forces. "The fact is President Obama is young," al Assad said, "and President Assad is also very young as well, so maybe it is time for these young leaders to make a difference in the world." Asma was born in London and moved to Damascus after marrying Bashar al Assad nine years ago. Last week, the...

LONDON - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would be willing to meet US President Barack Obama in Syria to discuss Middle East peace efforts, in a British television interview. “We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this,” Assad told Sky News. Asked whether this could happen soon, the president said: “That depends on him. “I will ask you to convey the invitation to him,” he told the news channel in the brief interview broadcast Thursday. Assad’s outreach comes as Washington tries to engage with its former foe after President George W. Bush...

Syria's First Lady has exclusively told Sky News she would welcome the Obamas to Damascus. Asma al Assad's comments are the latest in a series of signs US Syrian relations are improving after years of tension. "The fact is President Obama is young," she said, "and President Assad is also very young as well, so maybe it is time for these young leaders to make a difference in the world". And she gladly envisioned welcoming Michelle Obama and her husband in a presidential palace in Damascus in the near future. "I can see myself hosting them in Damascus in the...

Roger Cohen seems to have invented a genre. At the very least he has imitators. Olivia Sterns just published a piece at the Huffington Post decrying Syria’s “misrepresentation” in the media and arguing that President Barack Obama “embrace” Damascus’s tyrant Bashar Assad as a peace partner because the locals were nice to her when she visited Syria on vacation.

Syrian president tells Lebanese daily his country supports Shiite group because it fights Israel, says relations with Iran strategic; 'Syria-Lebanon border will be drawn only after Israel pulls out of Shebaa Farms,' he adds

U.S. President Barack Obama is considering meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad this summer, a United Arab Emirates-based newspaper reported yesterday. The Al Khaleej daily based its report on Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo. They told the paper the United States was weighing holding the meeting, the first of its kind in nine years, as a measure to advance the Middle East peace process. Advertisement According to the report, the Obama administration is contemplating the move in the wake of a number of recent meetings between senior American and Syrian officials.

ROME - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he hoped to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and expressed his willingness to help mediate between the West and Iran. Assad, in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Wednesday, also confirmed he was ready to resume peace negotiations with Israel but expressed concern about the political climate there. “With the pullout in Iraq, the will for peace, the closing of Guantanamo, (Obama) has shown himself to be a man of his word,” he said, referring to the U.S. naval base in Cuba where hundreds of suspected Islamist militants have been...

Senator Kerry said: "Assad is looking past Iran to improved relations with Arab countries and with the West." Is Assad Jr, suddenly so weary of his protectors and financiers in Iran that he would abandon them just for an American smile? The Assad family and their cronies, control everything of value in Syria while engaged in a ruthless dictatorship, subjugating their own people. Are we Americans so naive as to believe that at the time when a UN Tribunal has convened to determine the depth of involvement Assad’s regime had in the murders of Rafik Hariri and other anti-Syrian Lebanese...

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands – An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened Sunday with a moment's silence and a pledge to impartially investigate the politically charged case. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Special Court for Lebanon, prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said he will continue his investigations without political interference and said he will call "as soon as possible" for Lebanese authorities to turn over four pro-Syrian generals who are suspects in the case. Bellemare, a Canadian, said he could issue several indictments as a result of his wide-ranging investigation into the...

US Senator John Kerry on Saturday met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syria's SANA news agency reported. Kerry, a former presidential candidate who now chairs the Senate foreign relations committee, is the latest US legislator to visit Damascus this week. His talks with Assad were set to focus on Syria's support for Iran and regional groups, including the Shiite Hizbullah movement in Lebanon. "We want Syria to respect the political independence of Lebanon, we want Syria to help in the process of resolving issues with Hezbollah and with the Palestinians," Kerry said on Wednesday in Lebanon. "We want Syria to help......

BERLIN (Reuters) - Syria is ready to cooperate with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and wants him to get seriously involved in the Middle East peace process, President Bashar al-Assad told a German magazine. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Assad also expressed some caution about future relations and said he preferred to talk about hopes rather than expectations. Ties between the West and Syria have been strained by U.S. accusations that Syria turned a blind eye to Islamist fighters infiltrating Iraq and in 2004 Washington imposed sanctions on Syria for backing anti-American groups in the region.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday discussed prospects for peace in the Middle east with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Syria and Israel this year held four rounds of indirect talks mediated by Turkey, but the talks made no significant headway. Advertisement In Syria Carter is also expected to meet with the exiled leadership of Hamas, Khaled Meshal. Carter's first meeting with Meshal in April drew sharp criticism from the Bush administration which labels Hamas as a terrorist group.

Arabism - Violence Arabism & Violence: Dictatorship, Oppression, War, Terrorism The front runners of Pan-Arabism, brutal tyrants and waged large scale wars, such as Egypt's Nasser [168], Saddam Hussein [169], Syria's Assad (on Lebanon [170] [171] [172] and on it's own people [173] [174] including the Hama massacre [175] [176] and the dictator in Sudan Al Bashir [177] [178].The linkage to terrorProtecting terrorism, Pan-Arabism: the inhuman progenitor of Islamic Terrorism [179]. "Terror was used by the Arabs against the Jews in the Land of Israel since the dawn of Zionism." [180].An Arabist group called Jamiat-e Dawa el al Qurani Wasouna....

One leader that could not wait for U.S. President George W. Bush to be out of office is Syrian President Bashar Assad. Assad profusely congratulated his favored candidate: Barack Obama. President-elect Obama should be careful in his dealings with the Syrian regime. In fact, quite possibly, Assad might be pondering if he could get away with reoccupying Lebanon. The whole strategy of finding excuses to re-invade Lebanon is little by little being put in place. The most ominous signs were the deployment of 10,000 Syrian special forces on the northern border followed by the recent deployment of additional troops on...

U.S. President George W. Bush offered Syrian President Bashar Assad a secret deal to pull Israel out of the Golan Heights in exchange for Damascus breaking off ties with Tehran, according to a report published Friday in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida. A Palestinian Authority (PA) source quoted in the report said Bush reportedly proposed "a quick and satisfactory solution" to Syria's dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights. The "solution" was to be finalized "within several weeks, before the U.S. presidential elections, in order to push the Middle East peace process, an achievement the president will be able to proudly...

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is reaching out to US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and is pegging its future on the latter winning the upcoming American election. That according to a recent Forbes article by the editor of a Syrian news website. In the article, Ayman Abdel Nour of the All4Syria website writes that Assad is banking on Obama becoming president and lifting US sanctions against Syria.

Everyone watching the Presidential race is talking about the "debate" at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. But no one and neither of the candidates said what should have been said. And that's that John McCain had no business being at a church of a man who legitimizes and panders to the same country he says he will not: Syria and its leader, Bashar Assad. Rick Warren not only went to Syria, he praised it as a moderate country and expressed his admiration of it. Maybe next he'll do the same for Myanmar and Sudan.

The General who knew too little or too much? By George Eid August 07, 2008 General Mohammed Suleiman, an officer of the Syrian Arab Army was found dead in Tartus. He was assassinated in Syria only six months after the assassination of Imad Moghniya. Pro-Syrians called it an accident while some others considered it an assassination. What is sure is that he was shot? Shot to shut up or shot to be shot? That is a question that has been mingling in the headlines of the major newspapers for the last couple of days. “Mohammed Suleiman, an officer of the...

THE slaying of a mysterious Syrian general, who was shot dead as he sat on the foredeck of a yacht, has sharply raised tensions in Damascus and led to speculation that cracks are appearing in President Bashar al-Assad's iron-fisted rule. Brigadier General Mohammed Suleiman was little known in Western or Israeli intelligence circles until he was killed by a sniper in a Syrian port on Saturday. He was, however, a critical go-to man for Mr Assad and a loyalist who personally kept most of the regime's secrets and knew the origins of the rest. The general is understood to have...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the collapse of Israel and its government was no longer an unachievable aim. "Today's situation is that neither the return of Palestinians nor formation of a government and even the collapse of the Zionist regime is unachievable," Ahmadinejad said, according to Fars news agency. "The government has lost the philosophy of its existence and is no longer capable of implementing the policies of the United States and Europe in the region," he told visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While referring to Syria's indirect talks with Iran's arch-foe Israel, Ahmadinejad said "more joint...

France kicked off Bastille Day celebrations on Monday in a whirlwind of controversy as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad joined dozens of leaders to watch the Champs Elysees military parade. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was the guest of honour at this year's festivities and two units of UN blue helmets were to lead off the traditional march from the Arc de Triomphe down to Place de la Concorde. But President Nicolas Sarkozy's invitation to Assad has angered opposition politicians and some in the French military who served in a UN peace force in Lebanon, where Syria for years was...

Signs Pointing to Damascus' Break with Iran July 10, 2008 Middle East Times Sana Abdallah Speculation is growing that Syria is ready to distance itself from Iran and come to the Western fold if the United States and its allies ultimately reward Damascus with political, financial and military support. Officially, Damascus insists that its third-party negotiations with Israel, which are held through Turkish mediation and expected to soon be upgraded to face-to-face talks, are not taking place at the expense of its strong strategic relationship with Tehran. But leaked information says otherwise. The latest such leak came from Alon Liel,...

Is Syria's President Bashar Assad about to switch sides? The answer given by the entourage of French President Nicolas Sarkozy is an empathic yes. And it has to be. After all, Sarkozy has invited the Syrian leader to sit next to him in the presidential niche during the July 14 military parade, the most important public holiday in France honouring the Great French Revolution. The invitation, a rare honour bestowed on few foreign leaders, is designed to transform Bashar from an international pariah into a valued partner not only for France but also for the European Union as a whole....

Syria is ready to break off its close links with Iran if America gives it financial and military backing, a former Israeli diplomat involved in unofficial peace talks has revealed to The Sunday Telegraph. According to the offical, who has been engaged in low-key "second track" discussions with Syrian representatives for many months, Syria's President Bashar Assad is increasingly open to a deal which would greatly weaken Iranian influence in the region. Alon Liel, a former director of Israel's foreign ministry, said the prospect of a peace agreement with Syria was growing, though it might require a new American president...

It's Time to Talk to Syria By JOHN KERRY and CHUCK HAGEL June 5, 2008; Page A19 After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East. The recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese factions in Qatar – both apparently without meaningful U.S. involvement – should serve as a...

DUBAI, June 3 (Reuters) - Israel must be prepared to return all Syrian lands occupied in the 1967 Middle East war as part of any peace deal between the two sides, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks published on Tuesday. Briefing editors of United Arab Emirates newspapers during a visit to the Gulf Arab state, Assad also said U.S. sponsorship would be essential in the next stage of indirect talks launched last month under Turkish sponsorship. "At this stage we are not talking (with Israel) about anything else. What is on the agenda is the return of all land,"...

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that Israel has expressed willingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights, but direct talks would not begin before a new U.S. administration takes office.Israel declined to comment on the reported message, which Syria says was passed through Turkish mediators, but a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the country is "interested in peace with Syria." In an interview with Qatar's Al-Watan newspaper, Assad said the United States was the only party qualified to sponsor direct Syrian-Israeli negotiations. But he said those talks would not be possible right now because...

Former US president Jimmy Carter's talks with Hamas leaders constitute de facto recognition of the Islamic movement's legitimacy, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said on Sunday. Carter met with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal over the weekend in Damascus, where he also held discussions with Syrian President Bashar Assad. After meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday, the former US president was scheduled for a return trip to Israel on Monday. "Carter's visit to the region and his meetings with Hamas leaders are seen as recognition of the fact that Hamas is a major player that can't be...

Andy sent me this EXPOLSIVE story: The Speaker of the House, California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, lead an entourage to hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, with intentions of undermine our military operations inside Iraq, and members of that entourage met with members of the PKK (The Kurdistan Workers' Party), an affiliated terrorist organization, namely PJAK (An arm of the PKK who were tasked with handling the battle within Iraq.) leader Rahman Haji Ahmadi, and everybody in the know was too scared to go public with it. Remember that trip last spring by Pelosi (in the hijab no less)   and...

Andy sent me this EXPLOSIVE story: The Speaker of the House, California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, lead an entourage to hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, with intentions of undermine our military operations inside Iraq, and members of that entourage met with members of the PKK (The Kurdistan Workers' Party), an affiliated terrorist organization, namely PJAK (An arm of the PKK who were tasked with handling the battle within Iraq.) leader Rahman Haji Ahmadi, and everybody in the know was too scared to go public with it. Remember that trip last spring by Pelosi (in the hijab no less)...

Nothing special can be seen outside an anonymous modern office block in Leichendamm, a residential suburb of The Hague, though patrolling police vehicles and discreet security cameras are reminders that until recently it was the headquarters of the Dutch secret services. Behind its shuttered windows preparations are accelerating for a sensational trial that lies at the heart of tensions in the Middle East, and which seems certain to inflame them further: the steel and concrete building is to house the international tribunal that will try those accused of assassinating Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, three years ago in...

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's brother-in-law is suspected of engineering the assassination of Hizbullah's operations officer Imad Mughniyeh, according to a report Saturday in Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siasa ("Politics"). The news report appeared under the headline "Mughniyeh's elimination breaking the back of Damascus regime." The suspicions against the man, Colonel Wasef Shweikat, surfaced after his wife, Bashar Assad's sister Bushra, relocated to Paris with her children following the assassination. The move followed a split between Bashar and Bushra, which began when Mugniyeh informed Bashar of a plot against his regime. The paper said Shweikat met with a senior American intelligence officer in...

Beirut - A recent electronic mail leaked by Egypt unveils U.S. readiness to launch wide-scale military offensive against Syria if the Assad regime sticks to its policy towards Lebanon, Germany's DPA news agency reported. DPA on Friday quoted reliable sources as saying "the e-mail leaked a few days ago by Egypt to Syria reveals that the U.S. is ready to launch a wide-scale military offensive against Syria if (Damascus) holds onto its current position towards the Lebanese crisis." "This is the main reason behind (the deployment of) the (USS Cole) destroyer off the Lebanese and Syrian coasts," the sources added....

Syria may not only be to blame for the refusal of Palestinian factions to accept a cease-fire with Israel, but also for the terror attack which killed eight Yeshiva students in Jerusalem on Thursday, the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Saturday. According to the report, a senior Egyptian official told the paper that "Syria may be interested in focusing the international attention on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, instead of the situation in Lebanon." Asked whether Hizbullah was responsible for the Jerusalem shooting spree, the official responded that "there was not enough evidence, but that an investigation...

Syrian President Bashir Assad would like to restart peace talks with Israel immediately, according to Alon Liel, former Foreign Ministry director-general, who met with Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustafa, in Washington last week. Liel, who heads a movement advocating peace between Israel and Syria, said he briefed the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem of his talks. For two years, until the summer of 2006, the former Israeli official held talks with a Syrian-American businessman, Abe Suleiman, with ties in the top echelons of the Assad regime. The talks were held under Swiss auspices and with the knowledge of...

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak gave an indication that he may not attend next month's Arab Summit due to the interference of Syria into Lebanon's politics. In an interview broadcast initially in Bahrain, Mubarak said that the political crisis in Lebanon had its roots in Damascus, and that Bashar Assad needs to end his interference. Otherwise, the summit would be pointless: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, calling on Damascus to help resolve the 15-month crisis before hosting an Arab summit next month. "The summit will be held in Syria and Syria is linked to...

DAMASCUS, Syria - President Bashar Assad boasts that Damascus is "the capital of resistance," a claim borne out by the presence here of Hamas leaders and a host of other radical Palestinian groups. But the killing of Imad Mughniyeh, one of America's most-wanted fugitives, in the Syrian capital shows how costly the regime's traditional hospitality toward Arab hard-liners can be. Mughniyeh's presence on Syrian soil was a deep embarrassment to Damascus, fueling U.S. accusations that the country allows extremists of many stripes — Palestinian militants, Hezbollah operatives and Iraqi insurgents — to operate freely. And the fact that someone was...

Senator Barack Obama went on the record about the never-ending political meltdown in Lebanon, and for a moment there I thought he might have it just right. “The ongoing political crisis is resulting in the destabilization of Lebanon,” he said, “which is an important country in the Middle East. The US cannot watch while Lebanon’s fresh democracy is about to collapse.” So far so good. “We must keep supporting the democratically-elected government of PM Fouad Siniora, strengthening the Lebanese army and insisting on the disarmament of Hezbollah before it leads Lebanon into another unnecessary war.” This is all excellent, so...

It appears that Israel's raid into Syrian territory in order to take out a nuclear facility, a chemical weapons depot, or a missile storage unit (depending on who you believe) also had one other side benefit; the raid exposed the brand new Russian air defense system bought by Syria and Iran to be useless against Israeli airplanes: Information coming out of Iran indicates that the military there is very dismayed at how ineffective new Russian anti-aircraft systems were during the Israeli September 6th air strike on a Syrian weapons development facility near the Iraqi border. Syria and Iran have both...

Lebanese parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri revealed on Tuesday that he has evidence of Syrian assassination plots against himself and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Hariri made the claim in response to a question about alleged assassination plots against the leaders by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and head of intelligence Assef Shawqat. "We have intelligence about this and we are following it up," he told reporters. "The intelligence is correct and our security services are working on it. "There is cooperation between Lebanese security services and Arab security services to avoid such assassinations," he said, without specifying which countries were...

President Bashar Assad was personally involved in Damascus’ nuclear deal with Pyongyang. Documentary proofs of this, obtained from the presidential bureau and signed by Assad in person, are now in the hands of the US and Israeli intelligence services, DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report. In one, Assad hands down a specific order in his own handwriting that North Korea not be charged for Syrian goods, including an annual shipment of 100,000 tons of Durham wheat for five years worth a total of $120 million. This is the equivalent of the value of the reactor for producing plutonium up to its most...