Posted on 04/26/2008 8:23:28 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If President George W. Bush wants to make progress on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions before he leaves office next year, he first has to close the deal with Congress.
The White House took a step to try to win congressional support on Thursday by laying out intelligence alleging that North Korea helped Syria to build a nuclear reactor that U.S. officials say was destroyed by Israel on September 6.
The White House initially tried to keep the matter secret, fearing Damascus might be embarrassed by a public airing of the strike -- and the fact that Israeli jets apparently came and went unscathed -- and would be tempted to retaliate.
So it briefed only 22 U.S. lawmakers about the matter last year and it refused to comment even after The New York Times reported in mid-October that the Israeli strike had targeted a nuclear reactor.
Over time, the White House judged that the risk of Syrian retaliation against Israel, which is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, had receded.
Also, the administration has come under growing pressure from Congress to more widely share the information so that lawmakers will back, or at least not block, its efforts to end North Korea's nuclear programs.
Under an agreement reached in September 2005, the poor, communist state committed to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs in return for economic and diplomatic benefits.
The so-called six-party agreement was hammered out among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
The agreement has been bogged down by North Korea's failure to produce a declaration of its nuclear programs that was due at the end of last year.
In return, Washington is to drop two sets of U.S. sanctions stemming from Pyongyang's presence on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list and the U.S. Trading With the Enemy Act.
"NO CHOICE"
"Congress has been asking for the specifics on Syria before they would agree to any sanctions lifting," said Mike Green, a former Bush administration Asia specialist now at the CSIS think tank. "The administration had no choice but to brief."
The U.S. Congress holds sway over whether to provide money to the administration to dismantle North Korean nuclear sites and it could also block removing the country from the U.S. terrorism list.
Heritage Foundation Korea expert Bruce Klingner said the intelligence briefings partly reflected the administration's realization that they were otherwise "unlikely to get funding" to dismantle North Korea's nuclear facility at Yongbyon.
Several people familiar with the matter say Washington has devised a face-saving formula for North Korea under which it would produce a declaration of its plutonium program, but would simply "acknowledge" U.S. concerns about its suspected uranium enrichment and proliferation activities, including in Syria.
The formula, first disclosed two weeks ago, appears to have brought Washington closer to securing the declaration but it has been criticized by a number of Bush's fellow Republicans.
Several analysts and congressional aides rejected media reports that this week's briefings were prompted by U.S. officials who oppose the talks with North Korea and hope to scuttle them.
"The crunch point here was linked to progress in the six-party talks, rather than an effort to undermine the six-party talks," said a congressional aide who asked not to be named.
Another congressional aide who also asked not to be named said the detailed nature of the intelligence on Syria -- including what U.S. officials said were photographs taken inside the suspected reactor -- had increased pressure on the White House to ensure that any North Korea deal could be verified.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the top U.S. negotiator with North Korea, said the United States and North Korea had "productive" talks in Pyongyang this week on the declaration and how to verify it.
"What's important in the six parties we need to be able to ensure that every undertaking, every commitment can be monitored and verified," Hill told reporters after giving a speech at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
"You cannot take a commitment that does not have some mechanism for verification attached," he added.
(Additional reporting by Jason Szep in Providence; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Everybody already knew most of this and nothing new was revealed. A lot of commotion in the MSM and nowhere else.
It is how Israel could go through the most heavily defended airspace in the world and not even be fired upon.
That is still ignored.
That was thoroughly discussed here on FR months ago. But, just yesterday a poster said Syria has no air defense to begin with, so it can be both discussed and analyzed, and ignored.
Does Iraq ring a bell?
>>>I know this question might be off topic, but how is it that Syria suddenly has the nuclear material sufficient to be a threat for nuclear weapons?
Does Iraq ring a bell?<<<
Ringing some bells!
jveritas wrote:
Document http://70.168.46.200/Released/07-24-06/ISGQ-2005-00022470.pdf";>http://70.168.46.200/Released/07-24-06/ISGQ-2005-00022470.pdf that was written sometimes after the Iraq war talks about an Iraqi dissident named “Abu Abdallah” who says that Iraqi WMD were moved to Syria before the war on the month of 10 Mouharam (Islamic calendar) i.e. March 10. The document was apparently reviewed by the Department of Defense as you the word D.O.D (in Latin letters) written on the side of the document.
Beginning of the translation http://70.168.46.200/Released/07-24-06/ISGQ-2005-00022470.pdf";>http://70.168.46.200/Released/07-24-06/ISGQ-2005-00022470.pdf
Dear Respected Sir
Warm salute… and then
To review with regards and please and return the document to Mrs. Mona after the translation with thanks.
Signature
Abu Abdallah
13/7
To the Respected Responsible for the bureau of follow up and coordination.
CA11 RD
Subject: We have information about the location of the Weapons of Mass Destruction
In the day of 10 Mouharam before the coalition forces started the war on Iraq, 50 trucks for land transportation entered Syria on an intermittent convoy. I met some of the drivers and they did not know what they carried in these trucks. These trucks were loaded from an unknown location in Baghdad and was brought to the drivers and the Iraqi Intelligence was with them. Each time they crossed a certain distance, the Iraqi Intelligence stopped them and asked them what are they carrying and their answer was we do not know. And when these trucks arrived to Syria in the area of Deir Al Zour the drivers were taken out of their trucks and the Syrian Intelligence ride instead. These trucks were entered into large warehouses and when these trucks were emptied it was given back to the Iraqi drivers. And they were given a reward worth of 200 dollars for the safety of arrival. One of the drivers mentioned to me that this was second time they carry these secrets loads and the first time was 1 Mouharam.
I have a friend in Syria who works in a Syrian company as partner with a Syrian merchant. This person is an Iraqi ex-Consul in the Iraqi embassies and he resigned from the diplomatic circle and he has strong connection with the Iraqi Embassy in Syria and he knows all the Iraqi Intelligence and those knows that I work for the Iraqi opposition in Syria. I was visiting him daily during this period to find out the important news. When the trucks entered Syria I went to him and told him that Iraqi Weapons entered Syria so he said to me who told you that and I said to him I knew from my sources, and he told me to keep this confidential and not tell anyone because it indeed entered.
Singature
7/13
Under translation and print
Moustafa Al Khaliye.
D.O.D only, 7/13
“President George W. Bush wants to make progress on ending North Korea’s nuclear ambitions”
One remedy is Never, Never, I repeat, Ever send Jimmah Cahteh.
I understand they hacked into the computers controlling the air defense radar network and overrode them to show no Israeli aircraft in Syrian teritory. I further understand the Iranians are nervous because they paid the Russians billions last year for pretty much the same system.
Well how long has it been this way?
Bump to read later
Thank God for jveritas work on this quest for the truth.
I doubt they could have "hacked into the computers".
They would more than likely jammed them. That means they would have transmitted jamming signals strong enough to hide the signal, or some such.
The significant thing though, is that Israel could fly over their airspace without being fired upon.
That means they could do it again or fly over Iran without being detected. That is enormous, and the news coverage is mostly ignoring it.
It doesn't seem to have intimidated Iran. They must think they can keep them out just with bluster.
You as close to a fool as I would care to pen a post to.
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