22 OCT 07 / "Israel Strikes"

An Israeli air strike apparently destroyed a secret nuclear reactor construction site in Syria on September 6th. News of the attack has leaked out during the weeks since, but details remain sketchy. President Bush declined to answer questions about the mission during a recent news conference.

ABC News ran a story on Friday based on a source identified only a senior Bush administration official who said the Israelis encouraged the United States to destroy the facility. The White House considered an attack with special operators, but begged off due to a lack of fissionable material at the location, which is approximately 100 miles from the Iraq border. The fact that the United States did not attack the site is an indication that President Bush is hesitant to use military force with a Democratic majority in Congress and a protracted war in Iraq that was started due to faulty intelligence.

Despite the news reports, no hard evidence of the Israeli attack has surfaced. And Syria has denied a strike took place. In addition, there has been no official pronouncement from the Israeli or American government. It has also been reported that Israeli intelligence had a mole inside the construction site. A completed reactor could have been used to produce plutonium for a nuclear bomb.

There is further speculation that the facility was being built with the aid of North Korea. So it appears that while Kim Jong-il is trying to placate the United States and the international community by suspending his nuclear weapons program at home, he has decided to export it to Syria. North Koreans allying themselves with Islamist terrorists is not a positive development as it makes it increasingly likely that a nuclear device will be detonated in the the United States.

Israel acted preemptively to defend itself. And it will likely do the same against Iran before that nation builds or acquires nuclear weapons. However, attacks against Iran would be much more extensive because of the network of numerous sites involved in the planning and development of nuclear weapons. Israel would benefit from the assistance of the United States military, although a joint effort would inflame anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment in the Middle East. It is inconceivable that Israel would allow Iran to have nuclear weapons. Millions of Israelis would be in imminent danger.

The successful military operation in Syria demonstrates the effectiveness of Israeli intelligence, their military capability, and Prime Minister Olmert's willingness to pull the trigger despite the public relations disaster of the short-lived war in Lebanon which began when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel. This time the lack of outrage from around the world is remarkable.