Anybody Have A Clue?
by sarabeth at 6:00 am on April 25th, 2008 in Bush Man Date, War on Terror(1)
When Israel bombed an alleged nuclear facility in Syria in September 2007, everyone concerned kept their lips firmly sealed. There was not an official peep out of either Israel or the U.S. Nobody even confirmed that a bombing had taken place, much less what was bombed or why. Even Syria kept silent.
The Bush administration has not commented on the Israeli raid or the underlying intelligence. …
[…]
Unlike its destruction of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, Israel made no announcement of the recent raid and imposed strict censorship on reporting by the Israeli media. Syria made only muted protests, and Arab leaders have remained silent. As a result, a daring and apparently successful attack to eliminate a potential nuclear threat has been shrouded in mystery.
Then suddenly this week, for reasons that are not entirely clear (anybody have a clue?), the Bush administration decided to break radio silence. They bragged about the raid and our role in it to the press. And they promised to brag about it to Congress, complete with show-and-tell:
A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer convinced the Israeli government and the Bush administration that North Korea was helping to construct a reactor similar to one that produces plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, according to senior U.S. officials who said it would be shared with lawmakers today.
The officials said the video of the remote site, code-named Al Kibar by the Syrians, shows North Koreans inside. It played a pivotal role in Israel’s decision to bomb the facility late at night last Sept. 6, a move that was publicly denounced by Damascus but not by Washington.
Sources familiar with the video say it also shows that the Syrian reactor core’s design is the same as that of the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, including a virtually identical configuration and number of holes for fuel rods. It shows “remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon,” a U.S. intelligence official said. A nuclear weapons specialist called the video “very, very damning.”
“A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility”! Boy, exciting stuff!
Syria, of course, reacted predictably:
Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha yesterday angrily denounced the U.S. and Israeli assertions. “If they show a video, remember that the U.S. went to the U.N. Security Council and displayed evidence and images about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I hope the American people will not be as gullible this time around,” he said.
Can’t blame them. The unfortunate legacy of Colin Powell is that we have left ourselves open to that kind of thing for a good long time.
And then a funny thing happened. There was a loud clash of cymbals, and that video evaporated:
“In regards to a videotape, I’ll let the intelligence community talk about that,” said Perino, in reference to news reports about the centerpiece of the briefings.
A US official, requesting anonymity, told AFP: “There are still photographs of the facility as part of the video, but it’s a video presentation, like a Powerpoint presentation. It’s not a video of the facility.”
Even Dana Perino decided she couldn’t spin this one?
Okay, so the “video taken inside a secret Syrian facility” turned out to be “a video presentation that includes photographs of the facility”. What about those North Koreans the video was supposed to show inside the Syrian facility? Funny we should ask:
A U.S. official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss classified matters, said that among the intelligence the United States has was an image of what appeared to be people of Korean descent at the facility.
Oh, we have one image of what appear to be people of Korean descent? Nice work, guys. (The last quote was taken from a Reuters story that has since been surreptitiously edited to remove this sentence, that is to say: without any acknowledgment of a revision or update.)
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To be fair, it sounds like the Congressional show-and-tell may have been actually fairly compelling. Here’s how Reuters’ revised story reads:
The United States on Thursday released photographs of what it said was a Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, in an effort to pressure Pyongyang to fully disclose its nuclear activities.
[…]
In detailed briefings to U.S. lawmakers and reporters, U.S. officials produced before-and-after aerial photographs of the suspected reactor in eastern Syria as well as detailed interior images that they said showed key parts of its components.
[…]
One of the photographs presented to lawmakers and reporters showed what U.S. intelligence officials described as a senior North Korean nuclear expert standing side by side with a key Syrian atomic official inside Syria.
Why was it necessary to hype this by making wildly exaggerated claims? Does anybody in this administration have a clue? About anything?
Jake wrote:
So what’s your point?
You said:
“When Israel bombed an alleged nuclear facility in Syria in September 2007, everyone concerned kept their lips firmly sealed. There was not an official peep out of either Israel or the U.S. Nobody even confirmed that a bombing had taken place, much less what was bombed or why. Even Syria kept silent.” So let me ask you sarabeth, why did Syria keep their mouth shut? That is the most interest part of this entire situation. Syria barely said anything about Israel dropping bombs on their soil. Again, that is very interesting to say the least. So, I must ask you again, what’s your point? Are you just a rambling liberal that needs to spout off about the establishment?
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 6:47 am ¶
sarabeth wrote:
My point? Precisely what I said in the post it was. (What a concept, huh?)
I don’t see how I’m obliged to speculate about why Syria kept their mouth shut just because you happen to find that interesting. On my blog, I write about what I find it interesting to write about. You, of course, are welcome to do your own speculation. Start your own blog, buddy.
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 7:26 am ¶
Jake wrote:
Again what’s your point?
If you are going to write a blog, you better be ready to hear some opinions contradicting your views. I asked a simple question to see what YOUR view was. Not everyone is going to fall in line.
As for speculating on why Syria didn’t react. Your entire blog is speculation. Expand yourself a little and try to answer the question. BUDDY.
P.S. You obviously lack people skills.
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 8:03 am ¶
sarabeth wrote:
Maybe. Still have empathy, though:
I’m truly sorry
to see
that you too
don’t have a clue.
There, I wrote you a poem. Now what could be nicer than that?
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 11:29 am ¶
sarabeth wrote:
And while you’re at it, help me out: which views of mine are you contradicting, and by saying what?
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 12:02 pm ¶
Jake wrote:
Thank you so much for the poem.
You’re a poet.
And didn’t even know it.
That’s a poem for you.
Enough of the cuddling already.
First off, no one likes to go to war. The Middle East is the most unstable region in the world for many reasons. Can you imagine the following countries having nuclear weapons: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. Not to mention Hamas, Hezbollah, and whatever other crack pots are out there.
Go to the following website for info about the Middle East:
http://www.middle-east-info.org/gateway.html
We NEED to be proactive in this region. Say what you will about blood for oil, but it is an extremely unstable region. What came first, the oil or the extremists? Yeah I know the oil.
What is interesting about this, if the US meddles too much and something bad happens. The liberals will say, it’s our fault because of our foreign policy. If the US doesn’t do anything and something bad happens, then the liberals will say, why didn’t we do anything?
The reality of this world. There is good and bad. Liberals just need to realize this.
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 1:11 pm ¶
matt wrote:
this is supposed to pass for an argument?
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 3:24 pm ¶
sarabeth wrote:
Anybody have a clue what #6 has to do with my post (or the subsequent discussion)?
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 3:50 pm ¶
Skeptic wrote:
The Arabs couldn’t destroy the U.S. militarily, so they will attempt to destroy the U.S. economically. By raising the oil price which causes inflation, compound that with the devaluation of the dollar, the Arabs now have a chance seeing the U.S. changing from an economic powerhouse into an Argentina in North America. Thanks to Bush, they may be succeeding.
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 10:05 pm ¶
matt wrote:
we did all that by ourselves.
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 10:51 pm ¶
Jake wrote:
sarabeth,
I’m still trying to find out what your point of the blog is?
My point is, we NEED to be proactive in the Middle East. Terrorism is running rampant in this region and if we sit back and wait for something else to happen on our soil, it will. Take the fight to them.
So you can rant in your blog about this or that, but it doesn’t discount the fact that we do not need to know everything that goes on behind the scenes. Our government is giving us just enough information, not to give away sources.
Posted 26 Apr 2008 at 9:06 am ¶
Jake wrote:
Matt,
Thanks for your one-line critique. It takes a lot of thought to formulate something as deep as that comment. Dig a little deeper, there must be something inside that coconut.
Posted 26 Apr 2008 at 9:11 am ¶
Jake wrote:
Skeptic,
You are so correct, BUT, we can also blame the dysfunctional Democrat led Congress. They have been practically non-existent. President Bush has kept us free from more terrorist attacks on US soil. Times have changed since 9/11. We will always be at war on some level.
As for our economy, it will come back. It may take longer if Obama is elected. Taxing ALL the people never helps the economy. And yes, he has plans to increase taxes across the board, not just the wealthy.
Posted 26 Apr 2008 at 9:23 am ¶
Bob. Lipsett Sr wrote:
Ronald Reagan took us from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in as matter of a few years, after Carters missile blunder, trying to out spend the Soviet Union.
Now GWB is trying to assimulate Rons approach to world economics by trying to bankrupt the world. Remember that G.H.W. Bush #41 lost his chance to be a two term president by “VOODO ECONOMICS.”, remember the Keating Five and the Saving and Loan debackle, while sonny boy used fears and intimidation for his second term.
To use aggression to take over another country which happened in 2003 is a dispicable way to build a nation on the BACKS OF OUR ALL VOLUNTEER MILITARY AND CITIZEN SOLDIERS OF RESERVES AND NATIONAL GUARDSMEN. To think 4,050 military dead after 5 years and 2 month and 29,975 wounded just to build a OUTPOST in the Middle East.
Sure this bogus administration will try to sucker anyone into believing any other nation is trying to harm us and take over our freedom.
That’s not gonna happen while I’m still breathing. At 72 years old I’m not to old to fight these injustics that are played on the free people of this county. Also I did serve in the military without going AWOL from flight training by not taken a physcal that would qualify him for “High Altitude Combat Status”
Posted 26 Apr 2008 at 10:33 am ¶