Bombed Syrian reactor was nearly complete

Washingtom Times ^ | April 23, 2008 | Nicholas Kralev, Sara A. Carter

[woofie]

The Bush administration will tell Congress tomorrow that a nuclear facility in Syria built with North Korean help was nearly complete when Israel bombed it in September, and that Pyongyang has not provided any further nuclear assistance to the hard-line Arab nation, at least at that site, U.S. officials said.

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden and other intelligence officials are expected to brief several congressional committees in closed-door sessions, breaking the administration's silence on the issue.

The Syrian facility has become a key issue in six-nation negotiations to end the North's nuclear programs.

“The belief is that the reactor was nearing completion,” said one official familiar with the content of the briefings. “It would have been able to produce plutonium.”

Another official said that the facility in Syria was similar to North Korea's main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, which has been almost disabled by U.S. experts.

Both programs were based on technology to produce plutonium, a man-made element that is the most common ingredient used to make the fissile core of atomic bombs.

Administration and congressional officials spoke about the Syrian facility in past tense.

One official said it was “good that it was put out of commission,” and others added that the Israeli air strike occurred before fuel “had been placed in the reactor.”

[Uncle Miltie]

"I can vouch for my pool-boy Assad that Syria had no nuclear capability. He's hot, but not that hot!" - Nancy

[printhead]

So a short 8 months later we (State Dept) can declare the norks to be in our good graces again? What was that Ohio congressman’s name again? “Beam me up Scotty, There’s no intelligent life down here”.

[reagan_fanatic]

Pyongyang has not provided any further nuclear assistance to the hard-line Arab nation, at least at that site, U.S. officials said

What a stupid statement. Of course they don't provide assistance at that site - it was bulldozed flat!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wonder if the NKs lost in the strike will become martyrs in some form...

[mad_as_he$$]

James Traficant and he is a great all though slightly off center man.

[mad_as_he$$]

The Bush administration has a credibility gap. This will not be taken seriously.

[Jet Jaguar]

ping.

[Cindy]

Thank you for the ping Jet Jaguar.

[Wil H]

Bombed Syrian reactor was nearly complete

...And now it is completely GONE (The Syrians bulldozed the wreckage and cleaned the site)..

Well Done Israel!

[Bender2]

RE from 4-24-08-washingtonpost.com: "Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha yesterday angrily denounced the U.S. and Israeli assertions. "If they show a video, remember that the U.S. went to the U.N. Security Council and displayed evidence and images about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I hope the American people will not be as gullible this time around," he said."

Well, the Liberal Democrats & Jhimmy Carter must be proud as Syria come in line with the Democrat Party Line!

Gadzooks! We need a house cleaning but I fear there is not enough rope nor lamppost available!

[BIGLOOK]

Suspicious Syrian ping.

[tanuki]

Actually, Mr. Ambassador, we the American people are finally getting our heads out of the rears that our media planted them in and are finally figuring out where those ‘missing’ WMD’s went.

[ASA Vet]

MI Ping

[ASA Vet]

slightly off center???

He was about 8 degrees askew of plumb.

[mad_as_he$$]

I do not think that far and I know many here do not believe him but he is dead on about the bankruptcy of the US and the effect it has on the economy and the chains it puts the citizens in.

[dynoman]

The Iraq-Libya-Egypt-Iran-DPRK WMD linkage has been known for quite a while now. For more information look here on >>Posts 80-85<<

[Grampa Dave]

Nice move by Israel.

Let Syria get the facility nearly complete and then take it out with both Syrian and NK tech thugs at the site.

That way Syria wasted a lot of money and lost a lot of nuclear tech thugs.

[BIGLOOK]

Last night when I read of this, it was interesting that there finally was some disclosure of the target's importance. This morning, watching the news before work, there were hearings in Foggy Bottom discussing whether Congress should investigate the Bush admin over the its withholding intel on the Israeli raid. This congress can't wait to manufacture a scandal, even if its over a raid by the IAF on an openly hostile govt and one that our military wasn't involved in.

Speaker Bela Pelosi ought to be penning a thank you note to the Israelis for not conducting the attack while she was visiting with Syrian Baathist president Bashar al Assad in April of '07.