[Jerusalem Post] Ephraim Asculai - The photographic evidence of the existence of a nuclear reactor under construction at Syria's bombed Al-Kibar site was overwhelming: pictures of the reactor under construction, with great similarities to a North Korean plutonium production reactor, and its later camouflage by the construction of a surrounding building that completely enclosed the structure; the intake of water from the Euphrates River and the outlet of returning water from the building back into the downstream of the river, which indicated the existence of a strong energy source at the site. The most damning piece of evidence probably is the way the Syrians razed the site, poured concrete over it and claimed that it was some sort of a military site and not a nuclear reactor. This should have been enough for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to indict Syria for its violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But given the attitude of the present director general of the IAEA, it is doubtful that this will happen. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2008-08-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive