Nov 06 2007
Updates On Syria’s Destroyed Nuclear Facility
Jackson Diehl at the WaPo has some interesting predictions on the secrecy surrounding Israel’s destruction of a nuclear weapons facility in Syria two months ago:
It was two months ago tomorrow that Israeli warplanes bombed what Israel and the United States believed was a nascent Syrian nuclear complex along the shore of the Euphrates River. But the political shock waves that should have accompanied that remarkable event — which was both an audacious act of preemption and a revelation of an apparent Syrian bomb program– have been bottled up by the decisions of the Israeli government and the Bush administration not to speak publicly about the strike.
Now Israeli and U.S. officials are quietly debating whether to go on the record and allow those shock waves to explode across the Middle East and beyond. At stake are not only Israel’s tense relations with Syria, which so far has chosen not to retaliate, but a host of other pressure points: Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; the integrity of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Western leverage over Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad; and — not least — the fragile U.S. nuclear bargain with North Korea, which is believed to have aided the secret construction.
It is an interesting read. And since it was from yesterday I decided to see if the trial balloon stories were now coming out to lead the way for more disclosures. Sure enough there was one out today at ABCNews:
Syria’s internal politics might have contributed to the apparent success of the Sept. 6 mission. The target was so highly classified in Damascus that the military wasn’t briefed and, therefore, air defenses were unprepared, says an Israeli official.
But the absence of a dense air defense around the facility didn’t stop Israel from digging deep into its technology quiver, drawing on the newest technologies in its arsenal.
The first piece of the puzzle is linked to the launch of a new reconnaissance satellite this summer. It allowed the integration of several advanced technologies, including electro-optical imaging from space, image enhancing algorithms, scene-matching guidance for precision weapons, and the use of advanced targeting pods carried by the Israeli air force’s two-man F-16Is, which are not yet available on its F-15Is.
It would seem this story will continue to play out slowly through hints and peaks of what happened. The details make for an interesting mystery to watch as it slowly becomes public.
AJ,
Captain Ed has an interesting theory over at http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/ in that maybe North Korea gave up the location of the Syrian facility as a condition of the 6 party talks in which they could get the aid as well as the money from Syria at the same time. As Syria may have already paid for the the NK services. Yet if I remember correctly there were NK personal killed in the attack , if reports recent are acurate. As Pyongyang has sacrificed millions of its own citizens by starvation, what would stop them sacrificing a few of its workers? Just a thought…
Front Page Mag has a good article by Frank Gafney. Check it out!
On an unrelated matter, I’d like to clear something up:
‘purity’
Would you say that Clarence Thomas’s Grandfather was a “Purity†type person in the way he raised Clarence and his brother?
Would you say Clarence himself became a “Purist�
I’d say he ONLY follows the Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and the Rule of Law. That is “Purityâ€. He doesn’t interject his Personal Policy Preferences in his decisions.
Under those terms, I’d say you should Hate this man!
Left by stevevvs on October 31st, 2007
BTW, I am reading Clarence Thomas’s memoirs right now and take it from, Tancredo is no Clarence Thomas.
Left by Terrye on October 31st, 2007
At the time, I only had Rush Limbaughs 90 minute interview to make my assertions that he was raised in a very strict “Pure” environment. I owned Clarence’s book, but was finishing up another, so I had not read his book yet.
But my first question, can now be answered, by the book!:
Would you say that Clarence Thomas’s Grandfather was a “Purity†type person in the way he raised Clarence and his brother?
The answer: YES! Of course, you would have to read the forward and Chapter 1 to know this. There are countless examples:
Page 2: I am my Grandfathers son. I even called him Daddy because that is what my mother called him. He was dark, strong, proud and determined to mold me in his image. For a time I rejected what he taught me, but even then I still yearned for his approval. He was the one hero in my life.What I am is what he made me.
Page 11 We were Strictly forbidden to set foot in Blood Bucket (a Neighborhood).
Page 13 Our first task was to get a good education so that we could hold down a “Coat and tie job” and he wouldn’t listen to any excuses for failure. “Old Man Cant is Dead – I helped bury him”. It wasn’t easy for us to accept his UNBENDING Rules, but we did it anyway, He Gave Us NO Choice. The door to his house, swung both ways, It swung inward on our arrival, but if we didn’t behave, he warned OMINOUSLY, it would swing outward. He added that he would never tell us to do as he said, but to DO AS HE DID – He Kept His Word.
Page 17 Myers (brother) and I were allowed to watch a LIMITED amount of Television, always asking PERMISION before turning on the set.
Page 19 Daddy liked to watch us serve Mass and insited that we take responsibilities seriosly, including the important task of being Painstakingly dressed and groomed.
Page 23 The workday was over at five or six, but all that meant was that we took up such lesser chores as cutting grass, washing dishes, and feeding the animals.
Page 25 Our small, soft hands BLISTERED quickly at the start of each summer, but Daddy NEVER let us wear work gloves, which he considered a sign of WEAKNESS.
Page 26 Once, years later, I got up the nerve to tell him that slavery was over. “Not in MY House”, he replied.
Page 27 Daddy, Aunt Tina, and the Nuns of St. Benedict’s had changed my life. Sometimes their Strict Rules chafed, but they also gave me a feeling of security, and above all, they opened doors of opportuntiy leading to a path that took me far from the cramped world inti which I was born.
Page 28 But as I grew older, made my own way in the world, and raised a son, I came to appreciate what I had not understood as a child: I HAD BEEN RAISED BY THE GREATEST MAN I HAD EVER KNOWN.
I have to wonder, just what Terrye has been reading in this book. Of course, to compare him to Tancredo, one would have to read his book, and read about his life. Im confident Terrye as not done that.
Has anyone noticed this story? Does anyone think this is the fulfillment of a deal made a few months back?
http://www.tiny.cc/0pmwR
Doubt any of that deals stuff.
Debka is reporting today (Nov. 7) that Israeli intelligence
as a result of evidence found during the Syrian “empty building”
raid have moved their estimate of when Iran will have the Bomb
forward to 2009. That’s pretty soon.
Also the Syrian ambassador to London was on BBC* radio
this morning discussing whether a deal (Golan) could be done that
would make Syria become a friend of the West and break it
off with Iran. His reply? “We want to be friends with everybody”,
translation: “No.”
Time for deals looks over.