Once Upon a Time there was a Syrian nuclear weapons development project. It isn’t a fairy tale. Israeli news media today splashed this story all over their front pages. The basic story is that Syria once tried to set up a nuclear reactor as a first step toward developing a nuclear bomb. The project was located at a site in the desert. Israel found out about it and the Israeli Air Force paid it a visit. Afterwards, the site was just another pile of ruins to be pondered about by archaeologists in a few centuries. Here is what has been said so far:
The Site:
Deir-ez-Zour is located about 450 km north of Damascus. Al-Kubar is the name of what Syria admitted was a “military facility” at that location. The construction of the facility began a few years earlier after supposedly secret negotiations between the Syrians and North Korea. We should remember that the Iraqi attempt to build a similar nuclear reactor, probably with aid from some Pakistani scientists, was terminated by an Israeli Air strike in 1981. The Al-Kubar facility became the target of some Israeli secret service intelligence gathering that culminated with the acquisition of some very clear photographs of what was going on inside the structure that had been erected there.
The Decisions:
The head of the Israeli Mossad, delivered the material his people had collected to the Israeli government, The cabinet discussed the matter, and the head of the Mossad was later sent to Washington to share with the United States. There are differing accounts of how the final decision was reached, depending upon which persons memoirs are being consulted. The publication today of then prime minister Ehud Olmert’s book is what caused the current interest and first Israeli admission of having conducted the attack. Then defense minister Ehud Barak claims he opposed the idea. Olmert says he asked then US President George Bush to attack the site and Bush refused. Bush confirmed this in his own writings. Olmert makes it sound very dramatic. He told Bush that if the US wouldn’t act, Israel would. What was truly important is the evaluation that the facility was nearly complete and would be active in late 2017. Israel had already declared that she would not permit an enemy state to develop nuclear weapons. It wasn’t an idle threat.
The Raid:
A secret mission was planned. Israeli sources say it was named “Outside the box”. Two Israeli Air Force squadrons took part. It took place on 7 Sep 2007. A flight of F-15I aircraft made the attack. The escort was provided by F-16I planes from the second squadron. Some 18 tons of bombs were dropped on the facility. The structure was left in ruins. The pilots reported “Arizona”. That was the code word for a successful attack. At the time, there were no reports or admissions by the Israelis that they had done anything. A quiet warning was sent via back channels to Syrian Dictator Assad. “Don’t try to build another reactor!”.
The Aftermath:
At the time, Israel expected that there would be no real reaction by Syria. Forces were placed on alert, but the Syrians decided not to fight. They did make noise about the raid, but claimed the damaged building was nothing more than a base that was not then in use. So why has it been brought up now? Well, there can be a lot of speculation. On one side, it coincides with the release of Ehud Olmerts book. Could it just be a ploy to boost sales? or to promote a return by him to the political arena? Maybe it’s an attempt to send a message to Iran about their maneuvers to build a new reactor with weapons quality production capability. Whatever one may conclude, it is clear that both the Mossad and the Israeli Air Force have admitted participation in another highly successful operation. As we say in the Navy, Well done, gentlemen,
Wetherhorn 