Inside Intel / Not a reactor - something far more vicious

Haaretz ^ | 11/22/07 | Yossi Melman

[dervish]

Ten weeks have passed since the Israel Air Force attacked in Syria, and there is still no reliable information about the precise target that was destroyed, or about the importance and necessity of the attack. Since Israel keeps maintaining its veil of secrecy, Everything that is known comes from leaks by anonymous U.S. administration officials to several of the major American media outlets. What is almost certain, judging from the leaks, are the following facts: A nuclear site built by the Syrians was attacked, and there was some connection to know-how and technology transferred from North Korea. The prevailing assumption is that it was a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor that was in stages of construction, that would have enabled Syria to produce plutonium to manufacture a nuclear bomb.

This assumption relies first and foremost on an analysis by scholar David Albright, director of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington (ISIS). Albright was part of the United Nations supervisory unit in Iraq that searched for weapons of mass destruction.

'snip'

Albright's assessments, which hold that what was attacked in Syria was a nuclear reactor, have become almost an authoritative voice. They have been unreservedly adopted all over the world, Israeli media included.

But Prof. Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University is challenging them here for the first time.

'snip'

"In my estimation this was something very nasty and vicious, and even more dangerous than a reactor," says Even. "I have no information, only an assessment, but I suspect that it was a plant for processing plutonium, namely a factory for assembling the bomb."

In other words, Syria already had several kilograms of plutonium, and it was involved in building a bomb factory (the assembling of one bomb requires about four kilograms of fissionable material).

'snip'

[SunkenCiv]

I wonder if, instead, they were building a “dirty bomb” — one using conventional high explosive to spread radioactive poisons over wide areas (Israel isn’t very wide).

[Lancey Howard]

Wow.

[Doctor Raoul]

It has briefed only a handful of very senior members of Congress, leaving the vast majority of foreign relations and intelligence committee members in the dark. We are among the very few who were briefed, but we have been sworn to secrecy on this matter.

The US military doesn't get as much intelligence from Israel as you would expect. It has nothing to do with trusting our military and everything to do with Israel's mistrust of our Congress.

Israel knows that the leaks come from Congress and anything told our military will wind up in Congressional briefings. And that no matter how highly classified, the bastards with agendas will leak information that endangers their very existance.

Looking at Leahy, Pelosi, Feimstein, Reid, Schummer and comapny, I can't say I blame Israel for not sharing.

[txhurl]

9/6 ping

[Doctor Raoul]

I think the Deir al Zehr site was a cover story, and I am starting to stand by my assertion that an actionable nuke was delivered by NK.

No way dude, Kim Jong Il, in mid-orgasm, promised Maddy Albright he would sell nukes to rogue nations.

[Doctor Raoul]

CORRECTION: I think the Deir al Zehr site was a cover story, and I am starting to stand by my assertion that an actionable nuke was delivered by NK.

No way dude, Kim Jong Il, in mid-orgasm, promised Maddy Albright he would NOT sell nukes to rogue nations.

Durka, durka, durka, Clinton Lied, Jihad

[Campion]

True, it would require more Pu239 (by about only 1 kg) but is more reliable and doesn't need fancy (expensive/hard-to-get/unreliable/very-hard-to-make-from-scratch) micro-second timers and explosive wedges.

It will also fizzle and produce a yield of only a few hundred tons, unless they have incredibly pure, ultra-low burnup Pu-239 ... something that is very expensive and hard for even a accomplished nuclear weapons state to prepare.

[maine-iac7]

By George - I think you’ve got it...

[txhurl]

There was this Iraq WMD -> Syria map we found last Spring

That Jveritas has translated.

[editor-surveyor]

Plutonium isn’t hazzardous unless it is finely ground enough to be inhaled. Large particles are not hazzardous at all because there is no liklihood of accidental inhaling or ingestion.

[editor-surveyor]

"

We're talking about heavy stuff here; it wouldn't go far in a river. Think gold panning; it stays in the deeper hollows of a stream.

[BIGLOOK]

MI ping

Syria revisited.

[editor-surveyor]

"It has nothing to do with trusting our military and everything to do with Israel's mistrust of our Congress."

Well placed distrust.

[billakay]

I believe it is fairly difficult to ensure that there is no Pu-240 mixed in with the Pu-239. These extra little bits of isotype can supposedly enable a stray neutron to start a chain reaction just a little bit too soon in a gun-type device, leading to a dud or a weaker explosion.

[txhurl]

So a 'riverburst' is way better than an airburst, I'm buying that.

This is a site that came up on 9/5, or rather later that week:

?

What do you think this was?

[NY Attitude]

Thanks for the Ping.

[BIGLOOK]

This Syrian episode reminds me of a game of Nine Ball.....sunk on the break.

[gandalftb]

Let's think about all this. There were clearly no cooling towers or water supply, yet all the shills said it was some nuclear processing plant....... Clearly a diversionary statement for something much differant. But what?

It is widely suspected that many scuds, N Korean made scuds, were sent to Syria by Saddam. N Korea wouldn't hesitate to auction off its nuke fuel, but it is very low grade, the Syrians could wait a year and do much better with Iranian fuel.

We know that N Koreans and French technicians were likely on site, they are experts in rocketry. Rockets are Israels weakness on defense.

I think there was a rocket assembly plant here using advanced rocket fuels for high launch/boost phase rockets armed with dirty nuke fuel for an air burst over Tel Aviv and then leverage over Israel.

[NY Attitude]

You are so correct. How are you doing? Are you still in Hawaii?

[RayChuang88]

I still think they were in the processing of assembling an implosion-type atomic bomb. Sure, they could have went with a gunbarrel device but then the weight of the bomb would have made it difficult to deliver by missile or by a ground attack fighter like the MiG-27.