Crossposted from SmokeyMonkey.org
According to the AP, Syria reportedly complained to the United Nations about an Israeli airstrike within its borders.
NY Times A U.S. official confirmed this week that Israeli warplanes had staged a strike. The official, who would not speak publicly, said the target was Iranian-made weapons stored in northeastern Syria and destined for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
There are few details about the raid, and other theories exist as well. What should we make of this?
Israel has remained silent about the raid. It seems beyond doubt that something happened; that Israeli aircraft entered Syrian airspace. The question, of course, is why? And what actually happened?
The Washington Post describes a different possibility for the raid.
Israel conducted a mysterious raid last week against targets in Syria. The Israeli government has refused to divulge any details, but a former Israeli official said he had been told that it was an attack against a facility capable of making unconventional [read nuclear] weapons.
In fact, the article asserts that Israeli intelligence from satellite imagery suggests North Korea may be working with the Syrians on a nuclear facility. The Syrians, if you take them at their word, deny any involvement with shipping Iranian weapons and missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, so is the nuclear cooperation scenario more likely? I wonder if Syria's denials aren't a 'protest too much' indication. But then, why wouldn't Israel announce proudly that they had destroyed a weapons cache bound for Hezbollah? Maybe they feel guilty about invading a sovereign country's airspace for no good reason.
NY Times In the past, Israel often was swift to announce such operations, while Syria was slow to comment. This time, Israel has said nothing and Syria was the one to announce that its air space had been entered and that Israeli aircraft had "dropped munitions."
Speculation shall abound, I suppose. But something struck me a little bit wrong about the Post article: it referenced a NYT article from the previous day regarding the Syria-DPRK nuclear connection.
NY Times One Bush administration official said Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea. The administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria. "The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left," the official said. He said it was unclear whether the Israeli strike had produced any evidence that might validate that belief.
I recently discussed the history of Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea, and the inspections that were mentioned there have happened.
IHT Sung Kim, chief Korea expert for the State Department, said that the group of U.S., Chinese and Russian officials had seen the main facilities at the home of North Korea's nuclear weapons program in Yongbyon, 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, north of the capital, Pyongyang.
Is it plausible to think that North Korea has dumped its nuclear equipment into Syria and Iran and then agreed to inspections? Or is this more neo-conservative clap-trap about the 'axis of evil' and the need to bomb more middle eastern countries?