Israel Matzav

US to IAEA: 'Look again' - UPDATE: Video added

Thursday's Washington Post reports that the United States has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to search for at least three more nuclear facilities in Syria in addition to the al-Kibar facility that was destroyed by Israeli warplanes on September 6. The United States has identified at least three potential sites that may have been intended to supply nuclear fuel to the al-Kibar facility, although no indication is given how those sites were identified.

U.S. government officials declined to describe the specific sites that have drawn interest, or to discuss how they were identified. However, the United States and other Western governments have long been interested in identifying possible locations for a facility in Syria that might have supplied nuclear fuel rods for a Syrian reactor. Although the Al Kibar site was described as nearly operational at the time of the Sept. 6 bombing, it had no clear source of the uranium fuel necessary for operation, according to U.S. intelligence officials and diplomats familiar with the site.

In fact, as it turns out, al-Kibar may have just been the tip of the iceberg:

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said in an interview that the intelligence community's insight into Syria's nuclear ambitions has deepened since the Israeli raid.

"Do not assume that Al Kibar exhausted our knowledge of Syrian efforts with regard to nuclear weapons," Hayden said. "I am very comfortable -- certainly with Al Kibar and what was there, and what the intent was. It was the highest confidence level. And nothing since the attack last September has changed our mind. In fact, events since the attack give us even greater confidence as to what it was."

He predicted that Syria would "almost certainly attempt to delay and deceive" the IAEA. But he added: "We know what they did."

To date, the Syrians have been 'negotiating' with the IAEA to give it 'permission' to access the al-Kibar site. Actually, they've been stalling. But it's doubtful that the IAEA will find anything there. Recall that the Syrians bulldozed the site shortly after the Israeli raid, and have now built another building on top of it. Here once again are the before and after pictures I posted in October.



All of this has gotten me to thinking again about the Olmert-Barak-Livni-Yishai government's 'negotiations' with Syria and how pointless they really are. Olmert has already made a huge concession to Syria - he has committed Israel to an outcome of the 'negotiations' that will require it to withdraw to the June 4, 1967 lines which will put the Syrians on the Sea of Galilee. Assad will pocket that concession. What Israel is supposed to get in return is normalized relations, a demilitarized border, and an end to Syria's presence in Iran's orbit and to its support for terror groups like Hamas and Hezbullah. In the meantime, Assad's government has reached a memorandum of understanding on a mutual defense agreement with Iran, it has placed a massive armaments order with Russia (paid for with a $5 billion check from Tehran), it has announced that it will continue to maintain its relations with Hamas and Hezbullah, and it may be hiding three more nuclear facilities. This is the road to 'peace?'

Could someone please explain to me how anyone could believe that Syria actually wants peace with Israel? I think I'll answer my own question. No one believes that Syria actually wants peace with Israel. Even Olmert isn't that stupid. The entire 'negotiation' is a spin from Olmert to try to take people's attention away from the Talansky affair and his other political problems. But the price for the attempted distraction is not to be paid by Olmert. It will be paid by the State of Israel if it ever makes peace with Syria. And the currency will be land. Olmert must go before he can do more damage to our future.

UPDATE 1:41 PM

Here's a video with more details about this story, so let's go to the videotape.



Note that line at the end of the video: Four countries last year prevented Syria from receiving materials that could be used to test ballistic missile components. I wonder which countries.

UPDATE 2:11 PM

More on that last line here.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:41 AM