Did Israel decide to re-enact the Osirak raid?

[drone]

Even though it's been a bit hush-hush, I'm surprised no one has started a thread on this yet.

On Sept 6th, Isreali aircraft apparently flew into Syrian airspace, and bombed what they believe was a North Korean designed nuclear reactor. Since then I've seen snippets in the news here and there, but the Israelis have tried to keep everyone in the dark. The Syrians haven't complained loudly about the bombing, so it seems that the Israelis may have gotten some good intel and hit the mark.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102302577.html?hpid=topnews

Anybody else been tracking this story? I'm kind of confused, if Syria is trying to get nukes, shouldn't Cheney and Co be making a big deal about this and prepping for the invasion?

[lars573]

Not if they had Israel deal with it quitely with an air-stike. What would be the point?

[drone]

Not if they had Israel deal with it quitely with an air-stike. What would be the point?
Small, discrete airstrikes are not what the current administration is all about. No fear-mongering to scare the voters or make the Democrats look weak on terror. Having the Israelis deal with it quietly just seems too sane and apolitical. Is this what we can look forward to in the post-Rove era? ~D

A few days after it happened, I found an article with some speculation that this was an attempt by North Korea to move it's program out of country to cheat the deal. Possible I suppose, but not something most megamaniacal dictators would approve of. I've always thought they like to keep absolute control over stuff like this.

[spmetla]

It's been interesting to follow. The Syrian reaction is the most puzzling. The variety of different statements of what was happened or what had been hit or not hit all makes for greater confusion. I'd actually been expecting some sort of military reaction by Syria or at least some actions done through it's proxies in Palestine and Lebenon.

Makes you wonder what WAS hit? While it's easy to think nuclear I also want to avoid that line of thinking seeing as what happened with Iraq. The lack of response makes it hard to gauge what was hit as well.

And though the Syrians don't have the best air defense network out there, the ability of Israel to penetrate it with such relative ease probably made Syria and to a lesser extent Iran have some serious doubts about their Russian air defense systems.

[Redleg]

And though the Syrians don't have the best air defense network out there, the ability of Israel to penetrate it with such relative ease probably made Syria and to a lesser extent Iran have some serious doubts about their Russian air defense systems.

Probably one of the main reasons that it is not hitting the media - embrassment about ease of peneration of air space, and the accuracy of the attack on a program that goes against several internation agreements.

That or it just plain did not happen

[Ironside]

Probably one of the main reasons that it is not hitting the media - embrassment about ease of peneration of air space, and the accuracy of the attack on a program that goes against several internation agreements.

That or it just plain did not happen

Odd consensus about it when both Syria and Israel agrees that something happened.
My guess is that Syria doesn't want the world to know what was hit, explaining thier lack of big complains. As too big ones (or lies) would probably cause an Israeli leak about it, and the current complains had that small issue of not telling what was hit.

[drone]

Odd consensus about it when both Syria and Israel agrees that something happened.
My guess is that Syria doesn't want the world to know what was hit, explaining thier lack of big complains. As too big ones (or lies) would probably cause an Israeli leak about it, and the current complains had that small issue of not telling what was hit.
Apparently, Syria has now bulldozed and covered the site. "Nothing to see here, move along!" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102501689.html?hpid=topnews?hpid=artslot) :inquisitive:

[Banquo's Ghost]

Apparently, Syria has now bulldozed and covered the site. "Nothing to see here, move along!" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102501689.html?hpid=topnews?hpid=artslot) :inquisitive:

One of the compelling arguments against the site being a nuclear facility is of course that the Syrians would almost certainly have built such a thing deep underground - like the Iranians.

Or maybe they forgot and some poor sap of a project manager is trying to dig it in now, before the secret police get there. :wink3:

[Incongruous]

Perhaps it wa an occult center for the creation of a super army of the dead?
The Nazi's covered up Wolfenstien pretty well:book:

[Furious Mental]

"goes against several internation agreements."

It's not actually against any convention Syria has signed to build a small reactor without telling anyone. Not everything has to be declared to the IAEA under the NPT, only under additional protocols which Syria never accepted. Of course that is assuming that is what it was, which is conjecture at this stage anyway.

[drone]

Apparently, Christians In Action are briefing congressional members today about what they and the Israelis knew (or thought they knew) at the time. This is starting to get good.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302906.html?hpid=topnews

A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer convinced the Israeli government and the Bush administration that North Korea was helping to construct a reactor similar to one that produces plutonium for North Korea's nuclear arsenal, according to senior U.S. officials who said it would be shared with lawmakers today.

The officials said the video of the remote site, code-named Al Kibar by the Syrians, shows North Koreans inside. It played a pivotal role in Israel's decision to bomb the facility late at night last Sept. 6, a move that was publicly denounced by Damascus but not by Washington.

[Ronin]

it was obviously a scientology center.....bombardment with high explosives is standard operating behavior to deal with such a situation.

[drone]

it was obviously a scientology center.....bombardment with high explosives is standard operating behavior to deal with such a situation.
I didn't think the North Koreans had enough money to become Scientologists. :inquisitive:

[Vladimir]

Yea I got it:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080423/FOREIGN/373982385/-1/RSS_FP

Nothing much there. Anyone surprised? :juggle2:

[Adrian II]

It's not actually against any convention Syria has signed to build a small reactor without telling anyone.Oh, but it is (http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/iaea-special-inspections-after-israels-raid-syria).

Are in light of their relations with North Korea, I believe they were.

And I believe the Israelis knew.

And I think it's been dealt with so we should have no worries for the near future. :no:

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Have the Syrians learned nothing from Hezbollah?

You can't hide such things forever from humint (run by Israel's Mossad) and the eye-in-the-sky (run by USA's NRO).

Siting it out in some remote desert locale never works. You bury the core components of such a site so that even deep penetrators may not get to it. Then, for those elements which must be built on the surface, you integrate them with the buildings for a hospital and daycare center.

Doesn't preclude bombardment, but it forces any agressor to be a baby-killer to get at your facility.

[Vladimir]

Have the Syrians learned nothing from Hezbollah?

You can't hide such things forever from humint (run by Israel's Mossad) and the eye-in-the-sky (run by USA's NRO).

Siting it out in some remote desert locale never works. You bury the core components of such a site so that even deep penetrators may not get to it. Then, for those elements which must be built on the surface, you integrate them with the buildings for a hospital and daycare center.

Doesn't preclude bombardment, but it forces any agressor to be a baby-killer to get at your facility.

Hebrew Earth is now on-line. :2thumbsup:

http://www.jerusalemonline.com/specials12.asp