Nuclear Material Was In Syria!

Follow-Up to What was in Syria?

Since last Sunday, 2 posts have discussed a Military Air Operation conducted early this month in Syria by Israeli F-15s.

• Middle East Tension
• What was in Syria?

Meanwhile reporting of this September 6^th bombing of a Secret Syrian Storage Facility, has been almost non-existent in the Main Stream Media. Yet this event may have great significance in the Politics of the World. The reason is explained in this article for the Sunday Times of London on-line (Israelis seized nuclear material in Syrian raid).

Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem. [emphasis mine]

In view of the 6 party talks aimed at getting North Korea to stop its Nuclear Weapon Production, North Korean Nuclear Material in Syria is a Big Deal. The material has been confirmed as North Korean and Several North Koreans were killed in the raid.

Why were North Koreans and North Korean Nuclear Materials in Syria? Two possible reasons come to mind. First, the North Koreans have recently agreed to dismantle their Nuclear Facilities. Therefore, North Korea may have sent part or all of the dismantled facilities to Syria for storage for later re-activation. Second, Syria and Syria's proxy Iran have expressed interest in developing Nuclear Weaponry. The Nuclear Material may have been shipped from North Korea to jump start Syrian and Iranian Programs.

On the other hand, maybe the North Koreans, Syrians and Iranians were trying to kill 2 birds with one stone. Hiding dismantled equipment and assisting Syria and Iran is a very possible scenario. It is also interesting that Israel and the US are sharing information about the activities in Syria and the Connections to North Korea.

Evidence that North Korean personnel were at the site is said to have been shared with President George W Bush over the summer. A senior American source said the administration sought proof of nuclear-related activities before giving the attack its blessing.

Snatched: Israeli commandos ‘nuclear’ raid is another related article from the same source. This article also claims there exists an agreement for intelligence sharing and co-operation between the US an Israel. But before the Bush Administration would give its approval for offensive operations, the US wanted proof that nuclear activities were involved. The Conclusive proof was provided and ...

Today the site near Dayr az-Zawr lies in ruins after it was pounded by Israeli F15Is on September 6. Before the Israelis issued the order to strike, the commandos had secretly seized samples of nuclear material and taken them back into Israel for examination by scientists, the sources say. A laboratory confirmed that the unspecified material was North Korean in origin. America approved an attack.

Details and additional information about this operation are still not being discussed by Israel, now being called the 'North Korean Project'. Israel's Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who once commanded the Sayeret Matkal, was personally in charge of this operation.

Syria likely will retaliate for the Israeli attack. But if Nuclear Technology, weapons or manufacturing equipment was destroyed, the World is likely safer today than it was before September 6^th.

But details of the raid are still tantalisingly incomplete. Some analysts in America are perplexed by photographs of a fuel tank said to have been dropped from an Israeli jet on its return journey over Turkey. It appears to be relatively undamaged. Could it have been planted to sow confusion about the route taken by the Israeli F-15I pilots?

What's the long term effect of these actions? How deep are the ties between North Korea and Syria. There have been other incidents of co-operation between North Korea and Syria involving Chemical War heads at least since 2004, but this is the first evidence of Nuclear activity between the two countries.

What is Iran's role in the mix? We do know that Iran trains, equips and finances Terrorist Groups in Syria, but do they fit into this puzzle?

These questions magnify the importance of our current role in Iraq. It no longer matters why we went into Iraq, because the question of what we do now is much more important. To me it becomes even more essential that we complete the process we started in Iraq now more than ever.