US Talks Up Link Between North Korea and Syria

Remember the story about the Israeli air raid in Syria? It now appears that the US and Israel are suggesting that North Korea was aiding a Syrian nuclear programme. From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Members of Congress will learn during closed-door briefings Thursday about North Korea's possible role in building a suspected nuclear facility in Syria, according to a source familiar with internal administration discussions.

U.S. intelligence officials will demonstrate that North Korea was helping Syria build the facility that Israeli warplanes bombed last year, the source said.

The United States and Israel have refused to comment on the target of September airstrike.

Some members of Congress have demanded to know what information the administration has about the incident.

Thursday's briefings to intelligence, foreign relations and armed services committees in both chambers of Congress are intended to show that the building hit was a North Korean-designed reactor being built with assistance from Pyongyang, the source said.

It is less clear whether North Korea had provided or was about to provide essential fuel components to Syria, according to the source.


The action itself was, of course, highly illegal. No nation has the right to invade a sovereign nation, whatever their 'justification'. It appears to be a desperate measure by a US government that is eager to pull the trigger on yet another nation in the Middle East in order to spread it's influence across the region. Anyone who believes that there is the remote possibility of this actually being true is very sadly mistaken. And, even if it is true, Syria has just as much right to develop a civilian nuclear programme as any other nation (much as I despise nuclear power). Sabres are being rattled and propaganda is coming thick and fast. Do not be surprised if there is an escalation in the rhetoric.

Israeli Strike on Syria Aimed at 'Nuclear Reactor'

Slowly, but surely, little details are dripping out about the Israeli airstrike in Syria. The Guardian reports:

The target of an Israeli air strike on Syria last month was a suspected nuclear reactor in the early stages of construction which was attacked after intensive consultation with Washington, it was reported yesterday.

The New York Times said US and Israeli intelligence analysts had agreed that the reactor appeared to be built on a North Korean model, though it was unclear how much assistance the North Koreans were alleged to have provided.

It is not clear whether the Bush administration gave a green light to the attack. The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the secretary of defence, Robert Gates, are both reported to have voiced concerns about the impact of a pre-emptive threat against a site that was many years from completion and therefore not an urgent threat.

Yet another pre-emptive strike with no legal basis. The site was clearly no immediate threat, so why did the US and Israel feel the need to launch an attack at this stage, particularly with the upcoming conference regarding the Middle East. The fundamental reason appears to be a re-assertion of dominance in the region in the face of an increasingly confident Iranian state. A confident Iranian state, needless to say, that we have empowered with Western foreign policy over the past four years.

US and Israel Accuse Syria of Developing Nuclear Weapons

Another twist in the saga of the Israeli air strike in Syria. According to The Sunday Times:

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.

How utterly convenient that yet another member of the 'axis of evil' is attempting to develop a nuclear arsenal. It matters not that diplomats close to the IAEA have no such suspicions of Syrian weapons development, the rhetoric involving the axis of evil is sure to be ramped up. How long will it be before threats are being made against Syria as well as Iran? Perhaps the US sees Syria as the weak partner in the apparent Middle East conspiracy. Knock out Syria and you damage Hezbollah and Iran becomes isolated in the region. Whatever the rationale behind this rhetoric, you can be certain that the pressure will rise over the coming days and weeks. And don't be surprised if talk of Iranian influence is ramped up.

America Supported Israeli Raid in Syria

The Syrian incident continues to play out day by day. After Netanyahu's recent admission that Israel did indeed admit that the Israeli airforce were involved in a raid on Syria, it has now emerged that the US did in fact play a key role in the events of two weeks ago. The Guardian website reports:

Israel's decision to launch an air strike against a suspected nuclear site in Syria allegedly set up with the help of North Korea came after Israel shared intelligence with the US, it was reported today.

The attack on September 6 has been shrouded in mystery, although the Israeli opposition leader, Binyamin Netanyahu, yesterday confirmed in a TV interview that such an attack did take place. His admission came despite a news blackout over the incident.

The Washington Post today shed more light on the raid, which has sparked widespread speculation that it was a dry run for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The paper said the Bush administration was initially circumspect about Israel's claim that North Korea was helping Syria, and decided against an immediate response because of negotiations aimed at persuading Pyongyang to ditch its nuclear programme.

However, the US is believed to have provided Israel with some corroboration of the original intelligence before Israel went ahead with the raid, the Post said.

What once appeared to be a case of Israeli jets straying into Syrian territory, has now emerged to be a targeted strike on Syria. Issam Makhoul , a former member of the Knesset, has written an interesting piece on this incident at ynet:

The real question isn't about the details of the provocative attack staged by Israeli jets in Syria about two weeks ago, according to foreign sources. The question is this: Into what kind of mess is the Olmert-Barak government leading Israelis and regional nations this time? The heavy veil of ambiguity on the part of the government makes matters worse, by hiding the adventure from the Israeli public of all people.

There is agreement among Israel's defense, political and media establishments that Syria has no interest in initiating a military confrontation with Israel. In fact, in recent months Syria reiterated its call for negotiations aimed at ending the occupation of the Golan Heights in peaceful ways. These proposals disrupted America's regional war plans, which see the Olmert-Barak government playing a major role.

No doubt more details will emerge over time.

It has also emerged that Iran and Israel have been attacking each other at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. According to Haaretz:

Israel accused Iran of lying, while Tehran challenged the international community to send inspectors to probe of its arch-rival's nuclear capabilities, in an unusually bitter and rare direct confrontation on Friday.

United Nations officials at a 148-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said they had no memory of the two rival nations ever engaging each other directly at previous meetings, and noted that development - and the unusually harsh tone of their statements - in part reflected Middle East tensions.

The exchange came after chief Iranian delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh - like Arab delegates before him - said that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had acknowledged earlier this year that his country possessed nuclear weapons - something that Israel says Olmert never did.

What are the chances of the UN ever being able to inspect Israel's nuclear capability when it has such a close relationship with one of the veto holders? Just another example of the double standard at the heart of the current international climate.

Phalangist Antoine Ghanim Killed in Lebanon

It always surprises me how little context the mainstream media give to various events in the Middle East. The BBC reported Ghanim's death thus:

Banks, schools and government offices are closed in Lebanon, as the country mourns an anti-Syrian MP who was killed in a car bombing in the capital Beirut.

Antoine Ghanim, of the Maronite Phalange party, died with at least six others in the blast in the mainly Christian Sin al-Fil district.

World leaders have condemned the assassination, while several Lebanese politicians blamed Syria for the bomb.

Lebanon is poised to choose a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.

But the country has been mired in an ongoing political crisis, with a deadlock between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in parliament.

The reporting paints a very positive view on Ghanim within the context of Lebanon's bid to free itself from the clutches of Syria (a member of the infamous 'axis', don't forget). However, as with Pierre Gemayel's murder last year, little is reported of the party to which they belonged. The Kataeb Party was established in 1936 by Pierre Gemayel (the grandfather of his namesake). The party was founded after Gemayel had been impressed by the organisation and efficiency of the Nazi party after visiting the 1936 Olympics. On returning to Lebanon, Gemayel formed his party and named it after Franco's Falange party in Spain and organised it along similar lines. In short, the Kataeb Party is a fascist party.

Now, although any murder must be condemned as a criminal act, it makes you wonder: why do the mainstream media not give more background information about the Kataeb Party? Is it simply because they support the West's policy towards Syria? Is fascism seen as a necessary evil in the fight against another threat? Unless the media starts reporting within its proper context, these questions will remain unanswered.

Attack on Syria A 'Dry Run' For Assault on Iran?

That's the question in today's Observer. Despite Israel's refusal to comment on the incursion last week, Peter Beaumont claims that this was a 'major' incursion. According to Beaumont:

Far from being a minor incursion, the Israeli overflight of Syrian airspace through its ally, Turkey, was a far more major affair involving as many as eight aircraft, including Israel's most ultra-modern F-15s and F-16s equipped with Maverick missiles and 500lb bombs. Flying among the Israeli fighters at great height, The Observer can reveal, was an ELINT - an electronic intelligence gathering aircraft.

Beaumont also claims that the action by the Israeli air force was part of an attempt to address neo-conservative foreign policy concerns. Unsurprisingly, certified evil bastard, John Bolton, has been one of the key men pushing the propaganda for this raid. From the same article:

According to an intelligence expert quoted in the Washington Post who spoke to aircrew involved in the raid, the target of the attack, revealed only to the pilots while they were in the air, was a northern Syrian facility that was labelled as an agricultural research centre on the Euphrates river, close to the Turkish border.

According to this version of events, a North Korean ship, officially carrying a cargo of cement, docked three days before the raid in the Syrian port of Tartus. That ship was also alleged to be carrying nuclear equipment.

It is an angle that has been pushed hardest by the neoconservative hawk and former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. But others have entered the fray, among them the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who, without mentioning Syria by name, suggested to Fox television that the raid was linked to stopping unconventional weapons proliferation.

As time goes on, this story is becoming more and more interesting. It would appear that this was part of a concerted strategy between the White House and Tel Aviv to flex a few muscles and send a warning to Syria (in terms of its activities in Lebanon) as well as Iran. It seems fairly obvious that at some point in the not too distant future, the Israeli airforce will conduct some military operation in Iran. After all, Cheney is already trying to drum up support for military intervention, any claims that this issue will be dealt through official channels (UN/IAEA) is nothing more than fantasy. Military action is clearly the preferred option for the US and her key franchise state in the region. The question is, how do we stop this folly.

What Exactly Were Israeli Fighters Doing in Syria?

The plot thickens. From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 — After days of silence from the Israeli government, American officials confirmed Tuesday that Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes inside Syria last week, the first such attack since 2003.

A Defense Department official said Israeli jets had struck at least one target in northeastern Syria last Thursday, but the official said it was still unclear exactly what the jets hit and the extent of the bombing damage.

Syria has lodged a protest at the United Nations in response to the airstrike, accusing Israel of “flagrant violation” of its airspace. But Israel’s government has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter.

Officials in Washington said that the most likely targets of the raid were weapons caches that Israel’s government believes Iran has been sending the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah through Syria. Iran and Syria are Hezbollah’s primary benefactors, and American intelligence officials say a steady flow of munitions from Iran runs through Syria and into Lebanon.

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 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 official said. He said it was unclear whether the Israeli strike had produced any evidence that might validate that belief.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a military action by another government.

So they were involved in a military operation after all. And apparently it is all linked to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Clearly, once more, the Israeli government is bending to the will of the US government. Until Israel gives up its aggressive actions against its neighbours, it will continue to be the centre of the region's grievances.

Israeli Warplanes Enter Syrian Territory

Is this an example of the Israeli government flexing its muscles in the light of a massive arms deal with America? From Haaretz:

The Syrian army said Thursday that its air defenses fired on an Israel Air Force warplane that entered Syria airspace and "dropped munitions," the country's official news agency reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said it would have no comment on the Syrian reports. "It is not our custom to respond to these kinds of reports," the IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also said there would be no comment beyond the military statement.

Syrian air defenses fired at the incoming plane, which crossed into Syria after midnight local time, the Syrian news agency said.

The Syrian Army spokesman, quoted by the official Syrian Arab News Agency, did not say how the military fired on the aircraft, but confirmed that the incident occurred at midnight Wednesday night.

To be fair to Syria, they also denied that this was not part of a bombing raid:

A Syrian analyst told Hebzollah's Al-Manar television that the plane was likely dumping munitions in order to maneuver, and was not carrying out a bombing raid.

However, it is curious that they were in the northern part of Syria. As this map from the BBC shows, the northern border of Syria is quite a long way from Israel.

Very curious indeed.

The Folly Unfolds......

Thousands of people went out in force on the streets of Beirut to protest against the US backed government in the Lebanon. The protests were called for by the Hezbollah led opposition. As a result of these protests, the pressure is mounting for fresh elections. Elections that are bound to alarm some in the West.

This is not the situation Bush and Blair would want at the moment. The likelihood is that, if elections were called, Hezbollah would be the most likely benefactors. This, in turn, would lead to Iran increasing it's influence in the region. An influence already growing as a result of the invasion of Iraq and the execution of Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, the influence of the West will further diminish as the balance of power shifts away from Downing Street and the White House. There's just one tiny problem. This is all of our making.

We stood by silently whilst Israel went to war with Lebanon. Our leaders said nothing, hoping that the tactics employed by Israel would weaken the Lebanese opposition. The opposite has turned out to be true. Hezbollah were the undoubted winners of the conflict and they have turned this to their advantage. The attacks by Israel have weakened the Lebanese government to such an extent, it is on the brink of collapse. A bizarre tactic for a country that feels threatened by Iran and Syria. Of course, the Israeli government, as well as the people, are well aware of the damage that has been caused leading to heads rolling. It has also led to Olmert becoming one of the most unpopular leaders in recent history by his people. It is clear who the winner really is.

Of course, you will also read many comments in other blogs and in the media, that it is radical Muslims behind this so-called coup attempt. It is not. The opposition movement also includes many Christians. The BBC has already erased this fact from it's reporting (although I didn't much to get a screen grab before they did - you'll have to take my word for it). The balance of power is certainly shifting in the region, but not the way Bush and Blair had hoped. The folly magnifies day by day.