Israel captured nuclear material in a daring raid on a joint facility operated by Syria and North Korea before bombing it into oblivion, the Times of London reports today. Tests indicate that the nuclear material originated in North Korean facilities. It indicates that the "Axis of Evil" still works together for proliferation and other mischief:
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.
Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, according to Israeli sources. They located the nuclear material at a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in the north.
Israel sought American approval for the bombing of the compound, but the Bush administration required solid proof before giving it. The Israelis brought information showing North Korean personnel staffing the facility, but Bush insisted that the Israelis had to prove that the facility was developing WMD. The raid took the nuclear material out of the compound, and only on September 6th -- after testing had shown that the Israelis were correct -- did they get American approval.
This gives us some interesting secondary information. First, despite its reputation, the Bush White House does not shoot first and ask questions later. Bush did not easily support this mission, even though Syria has conducted assassinations in Lebanon and supplies terrorists in Iraq. The administration wanted hard, incontrovertible proof before supporting an attack on Syria. And the Israelis waited to get it before bombing the compound, risking their intel operatives in a very dangerous burglary rather than acting unilaterally.
Also, it shows that Syria hasn't been able to develop its own nuclear program, and that North Korea has tried to fill the gap for its AoE ally. Presumably, Kim Jong-Il is doing the same for the other point of the triangle, Iran. The lack of nuclear sophistication in Syria makes Israel breathe a little easier, but Bashar Assad hasn't given up on WMD, as the chemical weapon explosion in July, which killed dozens of Syrian and Iranian technicians, demonstrates.
In the wake of the Israeli raid on the Dayr az-Zwar compound, the "accident" might not have been an accident at all. The Syrians have to start wondering what Israel knows, and where its agents have been sent. Israel has decided to take the momentum away from Syria -- and this second Osirak shows just how successful they can be. Assad should be very, very concerned.