Israelis seize materials BEFORE airstrike
Everyone remember that little airstrike Israel pulled on Syria a couple weeks ago? Well, according to the Times Online, their commandos snatched some of the materials before they were destroyed:
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.
The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.
They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean. This raised fears that Syria might have joined North Korea and Iran in seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, according to Israeli sources. They located the nuclear material at a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in the north.
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.
Diplomats in North Korea and China believe a number of North Koreans were killed in the strike, based on reports reaching Asian governments about conversations between Chinese and North Korean officials.
Syrian officials flew to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, last week, reinforcing the view that the two nations were coordinating their response.
Syria and the NorKs have been working together for some time. Syria has acquired its missiles from them, as well as other arms. The fact that it's now admitted that North Koreans were at the site tips Syria's hand. After all, did the NorKs have to show the Syrians how to mix and lay the "cement" they were delivering? Not bloody likely, and Washington wouldn't have said "Yeah, bomb it" if the site had just had cement there.
The Israelis are rarely wrong, and they are among the best when it comes to gathering intelligence. I've often said that if they could come over here and show our broken intelligence agencies how to do the job right, we wouldn't be as blind, deaf, and dumb as we are now. No offense is intended to our intel professionals (my uncle is a 25 year veteran of Naval Intel), but we, all too often, make mistakes when it comes to intelligence gathering. Much of it stems from the monumental bureaucracy that is the US intel community. Congress is also to blame after their Church Committee hearings in the 1970s that neutered our ability to carry out successful intelligence missions. (Of course when it comes to the CIA, their track record has been anything but stellar.
Publius II
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.
The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.
They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean. This raised fears that Syria might have joined North Korea and Iran in seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, according to Israeli sources. They located the nuclear material at a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in the north.
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.
Diplomats in North Korea and China believe a number of North Koreans were killed in the strike, based on reports reaching Asian governments about conversations between Chinese and North Korean officials.
Syrian officials flew to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, last week, reinforcing the view that the two nations were coordinating their response.
Syria and the NorKs have been working together for some time. Syria has acquired its missiles from them, as well as other arms. The fact that it's now admitted that North Koreans were at the site tips Syria's hand. After all, did the NorKs have to show the Syrians how to mix and lay the "cement" they were delivering? Not bloody likely, and Washington wouldn't have said "Yeah, bomb it" if the site had just had cement there.
The Israelis are rarely wrong, and they are among the best when it comes to gathering intelligence. I've often said that if they could come over here and show our broken intelligence agencies how to do the job right, we wouldn't be as blind, deaf, and dumb as we are now. No offense is intended to our intel professionals (my uncle is a 25 year veteran of Naval Intel), but we, all too often, make mistakes when it comes to intelligence gathering. Much of it stems from the monumental bureaucracy that is the US intel community. Congress is also to blame after their Church Committee hearings in the 1970s that neutered our ability to carry out successful intelligence missions. (Of course when it comes to the CIA, their track record has been anything but stellar.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:55 PM
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