U.S. President George W. Bush warned North Korea last year against transferring nuclear material to Syria, Iran or a terrorist organization, saying such a move would be perceived as a “grave threat,” a former U.S. official recently told Haaretz.
In a telephone conversation, the former U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said North Korea may be using Syria and Iran as “safe havens” for its nuclear activity.
Bolton, now affiliated with the “American Enterprise Institute” in Washington, served Bush in his first term as Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. In that capacity, as well as later, he clashed with other officials, most notably from CIA, regarding Syria’s nuclear plans.
On Thursday, a U.S. official was quoted as saying Damascus may be building a nuclear facility with North Korean assistance, a week after Syria claimed Israeli aircraft violated its airspace and dropped munitions within its territory,
According to a Washington Post report, a U.S. official talking on condition of anonymity said recent satellite images gathered over the past six months mostly by Israeli sources indicate Syria may be building such a facility.
Access to the information has been heavily restricted to a team headed by security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, leaving many in the intelligence community unaware of the reports’ significance, the U.S. newspaper quoted sources as saying.
Israel has refused to comment on Syria’s allegations, but a former Israeli official had said he had heard the attack had been carried out against a facilitiy capable of producing unconventional weapons.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that U.S. officials had confirmed that the Israel Air Force launched air strikes against Syria last week, but would not discuss the intended targets.
“The strike I can confirm. The target, I can’t,” said one U.S. official, adding that there had been more than one strike. Another official called reports on the likely targets “confused.”
While Israel remained silent, media reports began surfacing Tuesday of U.S. officials confirming the Israel Air Force had indeed carried out an air strike last Thursday.
The New York Times said Wednesday that likely targets were weapons caches Israel believed Iran was sending to Hezbollah via Syria, a claim dismissed later in the day by the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations.
The New York Times said Wednesday that likely targets were weapons caches Israel believed Iran was sending to Hezbollah via Syria, a claim dismissed later in the day by the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations.
“This is blah blah. This is nonsense, this is an unfounded statement. It is not up to the Israelis or anyone else to assess what we have in Syria,” said Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari.
“There was no target, they dropped their munitions. They were running away after they were confronted by our air defense,” he added.
The New York Times quoted a Defense Department official as saying the IAF struck at least one target in northeastern Syria, but said it was unclear what the target was and what was the extent of the damage.
Syria has protested to the United Nations about the strike on its territory, but has also said nothing was hit and there was no damage.
Israeli officials have repeatedly declined to comment on the claims, however the CNN television network reported Tuesday that the Israeli government is “very happy with the successful operation.”
Senior CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, citing Middle Eastern and Washington sources, said aircraft and possibly even ground forces, who may have directed the planes to their target, took part in the operation.
The attack left “a big hole in the desert,” the report said. CNN quoted U.S. government and military sources as saying they were “happy to have Israel convey to both Syria and Iran the message that they can get in and out and strike when necessary.”
Report: U.S. says Israel took images of Syria atomic facility
The New York Times on Wednesday quoted a Bush Administration official as saying Israel recently photographed possible nuclear installations in Syria.
“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 paper wrote. “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 New York Times quoted the official as saying.
Israel possibly targeted weapons intended for delivery to Hezbollah inside Syria a week ago, CNN quoted the sources as saying.
Also Wednesday, a Lebanese minister said his country experienced communications disruptions following the IAF incursion.
Lebanon’s Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh told Al-Mustaqbal television that, following an extensive inquiry with cellular telephone companies and the Lebanese military, it was determined that the disruptions were caused by satellites and from sources out at sea.
Hamadeh did not go into further details regarding the source of the disruptions, but said that communications all but returned to normal after about five days.
Syria’s UN envoy: Our response has not yet come
Meanwhile, Syria’s envoy to the United Nations said Wednesday that Damascus was reserving the right to determine the timing and manner of its response to the alleged air strike.
“The Syrian response has not yet come,” said Bashar al-Jaafari, in an interview with BBC Arabic.
On Tuesday, Syria complained to the UN about “aggression and violation of sovereignty,” al-Jaafari said.
The ambassador said Damascus made its complaint in two letters to the UN secretary general and the president of the Security Council. The letters said the Israel Air Force action violated the 1974 disengagement agreement that was reached after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Al-Jaafari said Israel had violated Syrian air space and dropped munitions. But he denied that Israel had landed troops on the ground inside Syria.
“This is absolutely not true,” he said, adding the reports were an attempt to show that Israel could land troops wherever it wants.
The only countries that have expressed solidarity with Syria are Iran and North Korea. Russia issued a condemnation of sorts.