Has Syria Confirmed an IAF Attack on a Nuclear Facility?
by Richardson ~ October 17th, 2007. Filed under: Nuclear Proliferation, Syria.Update: Looks like my initial reserve has been justified as the UN is claiming a translation error led to the inaccurate report of Syria admitting to a nuclear site (I don’t know if the the Syrians had such a site or not, I just doubt they’d admit to it in either case):
The United Nations on Wednesday backtracked on a report that had quoted a Syrian official as saying an Israeli airstrike hit a nuclear facility in Syria, blaming an interpreter’s error for the purported comment that made headlines across the Middle East.
Syria’s government had reacted angrily to the U.N. document released Tuesday night. It denied one of its diplomats told a General Assembly committee that Israel had attacked a Syrian nuclear facility last month, adding that ‘’such facilities do not exist in Syria.”
[…]
”There was an interpretation error made yesterday when the First Committee was in session,” U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said. ”There was no use of the word nuclear.”
Original post: After first denying reports that Israeli jets had destroyed a suspected nuclear facility, Israeli news media are now reporting that Syria has now confirmed that scenario:
The Syrian envoy disclosed the nature of the target during a meeting of a UN committee where Israeli envoys were also present.
A senior source in the Foreign Ministry confirmed that the statement was made in New York by the Syrian official.
And:
According to the newspaper, three Israeli diplomats present at a recent United Nations Disarmament Commission meeting overheard the Syrian representative clearly say that Israel’s attack targeted a nuclear facility.
No clarification has been made, i.e., the previously discussed partially construction (with North Korean assistance) of the nuclear site was not mentioned.
As this is only appearing in Israel’s press, I think it’s wise to wait for further confirmation.



October 18th, 2007 at 7:42 am
Hi,
I am a french journalist who has just settled down in Tokyo. Before that, I used to work in Korea and that is how I became to know your website.
I am currently working on a news report about how North-koreans living here feel about the Sanctions and Tokyo’s position towards Pyongyang.
Do you have any idea of whom I could meet on that issue?
Thanks a lot,
Nathalie
October 18th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Hi Nathalie,
I do not, but I will point you to two Japan blogs with authors/readers that may be able to assist you;
http://www.japanprobe.com/
http://ampontan.wordpress.com/
Good luck!
October 19th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
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October 26th, 2007 at 9:18 am
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