Posted on 09/15/2007 4:44:47 PM PDT by familyop
Amid reports in the American media that the alleged Israeli raid into Syria 10 days ago targeted a North Korean-Syrian nuclear facility, John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN, told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend that "simple logic" suggested North Korea and Iran could have outsourced nuclear development "to a country that is not under suspicion" - namely Syria. Tellingly, he added: "Why would North Korea protest an Israeli strike on Syria?"
Bolton suggested that Syria, which he said has long sought a range of weapons of mass destruction, might have agreed to provide "facilities for uranium enrichment" on its territory for two allied countries which are being closely watched for nuclear development.
Bolton spoke as American newspapers reported that the alleged IAF raid, over which Israel has maintained official silence, was aimed at a facility in northern Syria close to the Turkish border, and that the strike may have been linked to the recent arrival of a shipment from North Korea, labeled as cement, but believed by Israel to contain nuclear equipment.
According to The Washington Post, Israel had been keeping a watchful eye on the facility, which is officially characterized by the Syrians as an agricultural research center. The offending shipment arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus on September 3, three days before the reported IAF raid.
The IAF strike took place "under such strict operational security that the pilots flying air cover for the attack aircraft did not know details of the mission," The Washington Post said Saturday, quoting a top US expert who it said had interviewed Israeli participants. "The pilots who conducted the attack were briefed only after they were in the air," the paper quoted him as saying.
The Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha, warned at the weekend that Israel would "pay a price" for the raid. Interviewed in Newsweek, Moustapha dismissed as "ridiculous and untrue" the notion of Syrian-North Korean nuclear cooperation. "There are no nuclear North Korean-Syrian facilities whatsoever in Syria," Moustapha said.
On Friday, Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, told the Associated Press in Rome that North Koreans were in Syria and that Damascus may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment. "There are indicators that they do have something going on there," he said.
Asked why Syria would take the risk of hosting part of a North Korean nuclear program, Bolton spoke of "Iranian compensation" and noted that "Syria is very aggressive in pursuing WMD capability." He said such a partnership would indeed be risky for Syria, but such risks might be considered worthwhile "when you're as aligned as seriously as Syria is with Iran."
"It's a diversion game - to carry on even when you are supposed to have halted, as in the case of North Korea. And I'd be surprised if Syria would do anything with North Korea without Iranian acquiescence," said Bolton.
Bolton noted that North Korea had cooperated in the past with both Syria and Iran, on ballistic missile development. For instance, he said, in the late 1990s, after an international outcry, he said, North Korea halted test launches of such missiles, but Iran continued testing and shared the results.
Bolton said he was also struck by the "hesitant way" in which Damascus had complained to the United Nations Security Council. "They have not pushed as hard as I know they know how to do in New York for condemnation. They have still not explained the nature of the attack. If it had been an attack on a Syrian military facility or civilians, they would have no problem explaining."
Bolton said it was still possible that Israel had been targeting an Iranian arms shipment being transported through Syria to Hizbullah, as some initial reports suggested. But he noted that Hizbullah had already heavily rearmed, and thought it unlikely that Israel would therefore resort to the "serious proposition" of an air strike in Syria to stop another such shipment.
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari, meanwhile, said Saturday that nothing in Syria was bombed by the IAF, and nothing was damaged. Reports of such an attack were "ridiculous and not true," Army Radio reported Ja'afari as saying. Ja'afari added that "Syria does not have North Korean nuclear facilities."
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the US had been gathering evidence, mainly from Israel, over the past six months that North Korea has been cooperating with Syria on a nuclear facility. This evidence - codenamed "Orchard" - was said to include "dramatic satellite imagery that led some US officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons."
In talks in Beijing in March 2003, The Washington Post further reported, "a North Korean official pulled aside his American counterpart and threatened to 'transfer' nuclear material to other countries. President Bush has said that passing North Korean nuclear technology to other parties would cross the line."
In his comments on Friday, the State Department's Semmel said: "We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen.
"So good foreign policy, good national security policy, would suggest that we pay very close attention to that," Semmel went on. "We're watching very closely. Obviously, the Israelis were watching very closely."
Asked if the suppliers could have been North Koreans, Semmel said: "There are North Korean people there. There's no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran."
Asked if the so-called Khan network, which supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, could have been involved, he said he "wouldn't exclude" it.
AP contributed to this report.•
So Pres. Bush was right when he lumped them all together as the Axis of Evil.
Of course, the left and liberals in American derided him for fear mongering, etc.
HA!!!
He's being sent there, along with the guy from Lebanon in the blue helmet, the guys who puts all the kids stuffed toys around the bomb craters, the lady in black with both arms held up to the sky, Jihad boy AND the other lady in black hold the unspent ammo she says US soldiers threw at her house!!
wonder if Heineken man will show up, too?
No problem AIT you know Chia Pet got paid on this deal count on it
I wonder do you think Chia Pet lurk on FR see what Freepers say about him LOL!
Yep, exactly well said.
Pelosi and Kusinich were just in Syria, what the h*ll for?
The Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board (formerly called the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board (ACNAB)) provides the Department with independent insight and advice on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, international security, and related aspects of public diplomacy. The ISAB is sponsored and overseen by the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. The Board provides its recommendations directly to the Secretary of State. The Board currently has 18 members and is chartered to have up to 25. Board members are national security experts with scientific, military, diplomatic, and political backgrounds. The Board meets in a plenary session on a quarterly basis.
Updated: August 13, 2007
Former Board Members
* Mr. Stephen Kappes, Member, September 2005 -- December 2006
* Dr. Amy Sands, Member, September 2005 -- June 2007
* Sen. Fred D. Thompson, Chairman, September 2005 -- July 2007
“Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja’afari, meanwhile, said Saturday that nothing in Syria was bombed by the IAF, and nothing was damaged. Reports of such an attack were “ridiculous and not true,” Army Radio reported Ja’afari as saying. Ja’afari added that “Syria does not have North Korean nuclear facilities.””
Syria does not have North Korean nuclear facilities, and they were not bombed either.
Plowshare - you can blast a heckuva reservoir quick with a nuke.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!! lol
That cute ROFL
bookmark
Or, as the butt boys for our former CINC, B(low)J(job) Clinton would say, "nothing to see here folks, move along , move along."
Ah, so Saddam shipped his stuff to Libya and the U.S. with its strong geo-political presence persuaded Libya to give it up (while all parties professed silence that it was Saddams).
But, as the North Korean’s prepared to “open up” to international inspectors, Israel had only its own resources (and very few “diplomatic” ones) with which to convince the Syrians to give up what North Korea either loaned to them, sold to them or asked them to preserve for them until it (North Korea) had full diplomatic recognition and a treaty from the U.S., by which time the oh-so-trustworthy Syrian’s may have already “discharged” their “weapon” at a time set for them by Iran.
The interview Kusinich did with Syrian TV shows him to be a complete and utter loon/traitor (if there was ever any doubt).
“Pelosi and Kusinich were just in Syria, what the h*ll for?”
To deliver their leaders’ message confirming that North Korea’s plans of assistance will continue on schedule.
Could they have been invited (needs State Dept approval IIRC) to be in country when the NK arms arrived?
Yep Syria Iran Libya all were/are looking for nukes but Saddam wasn’t
Breaking in their new Hsu's ?
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.