Report: U.S. urges UN to find secret nuclear facilities in Syria

An F-15 Strike Eagle drops GBU-12 laser-guided smart bombs.
Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense
Apparently the moron is convinced the case for bombing Iran is pretty much made. Only a few tweaks here and there required and he'll be cheered on by the American people when he announces the bombing is soon to start.

So now its time to start building a case against Syria. Time is running out in his tenure and he has to get as many confrontations (read wars) started as he can in his few remaining months in office.

And Syria has always been on the idiot's list of countries he must attack.

The United States is pressing United Nations inspectors to broaden the scope of a search in Syria to include possible secret nuclear facilities, The Washington Post reported in Thursday editions, citing U.S. government officials and Western diplomats.

At least three sites have been identified by U.S. officials and passed along to UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the newspaper reported.

U.S. government officials declined to describe the specific sites that have drawn interest or to discuss how they were identified, it said.

Citing unnamed sources, the Post said U.S. officials want to know if the suspected sites may have been support facilities for the alleged Al Kibar reactor destroyed in an Israel Air Force strike last September.

Syria maintains the facility targeted by the IAF was a disused military building in its eastern desert that had no nuclear link. It has yet to accept a request from the IAEA to visit the site.

Israel is believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.

Isn't that last paragraph fucking reassuring?

BTW I feel like a fool because I didn't notice the point when the moron's bogeyman morphed from al Qaeda and terrorists to nuclear states. Although, in the case of Iran at least the terrorist angle is still in play.

I wonder if the administration has someone on staff whose sole responsibility is to predict the next thing capable of striking fear in the hearts of Americans.

Note: Headline links to source.

Syria bristles at US charges

I love the phrase a "convenient inaccuracy".

Washington's accusations that Syria and North Korea cooperated on a nuclear site that was allegedly destroyed by an Israeli air strike last September, are being laughed off in Damascus as another "convenient inaccuracy".

But, as the author goes on to say.

The charge would be downright funny if it didn't come with the dangerous potential of mushrooming into war, as happened when Iraq was accused of developing weapons of mass destruction.

The headline links to the source.

Syria will allow US to screen Iraqi refugees

OK, I'm confused. Just where the hell in the rabbit hole am I? I see light, but don't know the source.

Syria is cooperating with the US? Jesus H Christ in Doc Martens, what is happening here? The next thing you know the fucking Syrians will be visiting the White House.

We must keep reminding ourselves who our enemies are. Syrians? Check. Iranians? Check. Lebanese? Check. Israelis? Hahaha. Ya gotta be kidding.

I'll stop here. I'm getting tired.

Syria has agreed to allow US interviewers into the country to screen Iraqi refugees for admission to the United States, clearing a major obstacle to the Bush administration's resettlement program, the State Department said yesterday.

Seriously, this is great news. The US has an obligation to bring in as many Iraqi refugees as is possible and screening is necessary. Here's hoping they all pass mustard.*

* Pass mustard is US term for accepted or qualify.

Via Boston Globe.

'Aviation Week': Syrian politics helped IAF raid

Jesus H Christ in Doc Martens, you really can't make this shit up.

Is Bush idiot-in-chief for the Syrian military too?

Report alleges that Syrian military didn't know about site, and didn't set up defenses.

That's a definite oopsie!

Although no one seems to know exactly whether or not the strikes did occur, this would be a huge blunder if they did.

Via Seattle Times.

Syria warns of US 'lies' over Israel air violation

File under: No shit!

An official Syrian daily warned on Sunday that US "lies" over nuclear cooperation with North Korea could serve as a pretext for an attack on Syria following an Israeli violation of its airspace.

"Members of the choir have started up a new song that is full of hostility, this time about Syrian-Korean nuclear cooperation," Ath-Thawra said. "This is a big lie... Syria is used to having to put up with such lies."

The Washington Post reported last Thursday that North Korea may be helping Syria build some kind of nuclear facility, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

Israel's secret service had relayed the information to the US government, which the Post described as "dramatic."

Via Black Listed News.

Bush is certain the end times are nigh. And he intends to rush them along.

Bush's Rush to Armageddon

By Robert Parry
January 8, 2007

George W. Bush has purged senior military and intelligence officials who were obstacles to a wider war in the Middle East, broadening his options for both escalating the conflict inside Iraq and expanding the fighting to Iran and Syria with Israel’s help.

Via Consortium News.

Can you say conflagration? Yeah, I thought you could.

Report: IAF attacked N. Korean nuclear shipment to Syria

There is little news coming out today for some reason, but what is out there is almost universally ugly.

The secret IAF foray into Syrian airspace was in fact an Israeli air strike directed at a North Korean boat delivering suspected nuclear material to Syria, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the North Korean boat was disguised as a cement shipment. The Post report also claimed that the IAF attacked an "agricultural research center" which Israel believed was in fact a facility used by the Syrians to extract uranium from phosphates.

The report quoted an anonymous source who said that he received his information from Israelis who participated in the attack. According to that source, Israel took significant measures to protect the secrecy of the mission, briefing only those pilots who actually carried out the strike, and not the pilots of the planes providing cover. Further, the pilots who were involved in the attack were only told details after they had already taken off.

Speculation over the IAF foray into Syrian territory has been the subject of considerable debate since news of the mission broke last week.

On a Friday, a senior US nuclear official said that the North Koreans were in Syria and Damascus may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment.

Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, did not name the suppliers, but said there were North Koreans in Syria and that he could not exclude that the network run by disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan may have been involved.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Israel had gathered satellite imagery showing possible North Korean cooperation with Syria on a nuclear facility.

Semmel, who is in Italy for a meeting Saturday on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, said that Syria was certainly on the US nuclear "watch list."

This is what happens when the Bush administration opens a Pandora's box of pre-emptive attack.

Via Jerusalem Post.

Bush administration dogged by NKorea-Syria nuclear links

This can't be good at all. Regardless what the "real" facts are, there doesn't seem to be any sunny outcome to this story.

Divisions have appeared again in US President George W. Bush's administration over a North Korean nuclear disarmament deal amid leaked US intelligence citing alleged atomic links between the Stalinist state and Syria.

As North Korea moves to declare and disable its nuclear weapons program under a six-party deal, reports in the New York Times and Washington Post have suggested Pyongyang may be helping US arch rival Syria build a nuclear weapons facility.

The reports, citing unnamed sources, were based on intelligence information supposedly from Israel's flyover and apparent raid last week on targets inside Syria.

The information could have been provided by hawks within the Bush administration who are against the rapidly-progressing deal with North Korea, some experts said.

They questioned the timing of the reports, coming just ahead of key six-party talks among the United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia, where Pyongyang is widely expected to agree to declare and disable its nuclear arsenal by the end of 2007.

"There is supposed to be an effort by some officials to torpedo the North Korea nuclear deal by portraying North Korea as a 'proliferator,'" said Joseph Cirincione, a weapons expert, who was once a key advisor to Congress.

He likened the reports to those that surfaced in the run up to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 during which officials provided apparently incorrect intelligence information about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

I've repeatedly put to you an invasion of Iran is coming and now its looking like NoKo is back on the stove and Syria too. Just trying to offer up some dots. You can link them together.

Via Channel NewAsia.

'Proxy war' could soon lead to direct conflict, analysts warn

This is what the people most familiar are saying about the Mid-East right now and it doesn't sound very good.

The growing US focus on confronting Iran in a proxy war inside Iraq risks triggering a direct conflict in the next few months, regional analysts are warning.

US-Iranian tensions have mounted significantly in the past few days, with heightened rhetoric on both sides and the US decision to establish a military base in Iraq less than five miles from the Iranian border to block the smuggling of Iranian arms to Shia militias.

The involvement of a few hundred British troops in the anti-smuggling operation also raises the risk of their involvement in a cross-border clash.

US officers have alleged that an advanced Iranian-made missile had been fired at an American base from a Shia area, which if confirmed would be a significant escalation in the "proxy war" referred to this week by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq.

"The proxy war that has been going on in Iraq may now cross the border. This is a very dangerous period," Patrick Cronin, the director of studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said.

Iran's leaders have so far shown every sign of relishing the confrontation. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared yesterday that American policies had failed in the Middle East and warned: "I am certain that one day Bush and senior American officials will be tried in an international court for the tragedies they have created in Iraq."

In such circumstances, last week's Israeli air strike against a mystery site in northern Syria has triggered speculation over its motives. Israel has been silent about the attack. Syria complained to the UN security council but gave few details. Some say the target was Iranian weapons on their way to Hizbullah in Lebanon, or that the sortie was a dry run for a US-Israeli attack on Syria and Iran. There is even speculation that the Israelis took out a nuclear facility funded by Iran and supplied by North Korea.

It seems, from my reading, few doubt Israel did fly over Syria and did drop bombs. No one was killed because there were no people where the bombs were dropped. Think of it as a firing range.

Via Mathaba.

Lieberman Shrugs Off Failed Iraq Predictions, Now Claims ‘Road To Victory’ Goes Through Syria

True Blue Liberable has this little gem from dopey Lieberman. Which, when juxtaposed against this, suggests dopey is about to fall over because of how far he's leaning to the right.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) writes today in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. “road to victory” in Iraq goes through Damascus, and urges Congress to “send a clear and unambiguous message to the Syrian regime“:

The United States is at last making significant progress against al Qaeda in Iraq–but the road to victory now requires cutting off al Qaeda’s road to Iraq through Damascus. […]

'US pushing Israel to wage war against Syria with aid'

Take this story with a grain of salt because in comes from, shall we say, a slightly biased source. But if true, this is hardly something needed in the Mid-East.

Washington is preventing Israel from making peace with Syria and instead is forcing it to wage war, the Arab country's government-owned daily Tishrin read on Monday.

The paper said that recent moves made by the US including supplying Israel with weapons and agreeing to a 30 billion dollar aid-package are methods the country was implementing to push the Jewish state to wage war on Damascus.

That all said, I'm inclined to believe its true. The neocons want the Mid-East in turmoil and, if the US can't invade Syria, Israel is the perfect proxy.

(read more)

Syrians vote for president in no-contest poll

Ah, the kind of democracy Bush is after.

Syrians were voting on Sunday in a no-contest referendum which will give President Bashar al-Assad another seven years at the helm of a Middle East regional heavyweight.

With parliament unanimously approving the candidature of the 41-year-old president for a second term, and with vocal opponents of the regime locked up, the referendum will inevitably annoint Assad as president until the year 2014.

All joking aside, we aren't very far from this. Bush does have ability to spy on anyone, label anyone an enemy combatant, refuse habeas corpus and, under the flimsiest of excuses, declare martial law.

(read more)

U.S. Republican meets Assad day after contentious Pelosi visit

Sic 'em, Bush. And just watch all the wingers jump on Issa.

A visiting U.S. congressman held talks with President Bashar Assad Thursday, a day after a congressional delegation headed by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparked controversy by meeting the Syrian leader.

U.S. President George W. Bush has rejected direct talks with Damascus and criticized Pelosi for her visit.

Commenting on Bush's criticism, California Republican Darrell Issa [said visiting Republican] said the president had failed to promote the necessary dialogue to resolve disagreements between the U.S. and Syria.

And that ignores the visit, reported in the WaPo on April 1.

U.S. House members meeting with President Bashar Assad Sunday said they believed there was an opportunity for dialogue with the Syrian leadership.

The U.S. House members, who included Virginia Republican Frank Wolf, Pennsylvania Republican Joe Pitts and Alabama Republican Robert Aderholt, also said they had raised with Syrian officials the issue of stopping the alleged flow of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq.

April 1 would of course be before Pelosi's visit. Hmmm.

Such hypocrisy on Bush's part is to be expected. Such hypocrisy on the winger's part is to be expected. So why am I posting about this? Its just business as usual, right?

ABC News Exclusive: The Secret War Against Iran

Does this sound at all familiar? Uh, South America during Ronnie's reign come to mind?

A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News.

The group, called Jundullah, is made up of members of the Baluchi tribe and operates out of the Baluchistan province in Pakistan, just across the border from Iran.

It has taken responsibility for the deaths and kidnappings of more than a dozen Iranian soldiers and officials.

U.S. officials say the U.S. relationship with Jundullah is arranged so that the U.S. provides no funding to the group, which would require an official presidential order or "finding" as well as congressional oversight.

I like that little punt of "no funding" information. Hehe, we aren't officially financing terrorists.

And doesn't the leader of this group of fucking thugs and murders sound like a charming fellow?

"He used to fight with the Taliban. He's part drug smuggler , part Taliban, part Sunni activist," said Alexis Debat, a senior fellow on counterterrorism at the Nixon Center and an ABC News consultant who recently met with Pakistani officials and tribal members.

"Regi is essentially commanding a force of several hundred guerrilla fighters that stage attacks across the border into Iran on Iranian military officers, Iranian intelligence officers, kidnapping them, executing them on camera," Debat said.

Yeah, I'd sure love to sit down and have a nice cold one with that sophisticated gentleman.

Now here's an area of real repugnance, Bushco is letting a drug smuggling Taliban member (a group we're fighting) act as judge and jury, or the CIA fills those rolls, and executioner. These murdered people have not been found guilty by any court of law.

One last shot here. How in hell do the hyenas in the Bush administration live with themselves? We won't talk to Hamas, Hezbollah, Taliban, Syria or Iran because they are all terrorists or terrorist supporters. Just forget we have our own terrorists. Ours are on the side of truth, justice and democracy.

I have another last shot. Call it one for the road. Did you catch that little "executing them on camera" bit? The Bush administration is condoning the making of fucking snuff films. They're probably duplicated and couriered to Cheney nightly so he can get all excited. Disgusting!

Sure makes ya feel proud of yer ol' government doesn't it.

(read more)

The little confab in Baghdad

You will soon see why the headline is so vague. Did any journalists actually attend? Just asking. First headline and a snippet.

Accusations fly at Iraq conference

The United States and Iran traded blame for the violence engulfing Iraq at a conference of Iraq's neighbors Saturday that was hailed as a first step toward resolving the building tensions between the decades-old rivals.

Seated near opposite ends of a large rectangular table, the U.S. and Iranian envoys exchanged accusations of kidnapping, arms smuggling and inciting violence, tempering hopes of an imminent thaw in their relationship.

Though they talked for nearly eight hours, the delegates from 13 nations and three organizations failed to reach agreement on the main item on the agenda: setting a time and a place for their next meeting, to be held at the ministerial level.

Just as the envoys were about to break for lunch, two mortars exploded beside the Foreign Ministry building where the conference was taking place, underscoring the dangers inherent in holding any kind of high-level gathering in Baghdad.

Then we have this.

US envoy says talks with Iran, Syria 'businesslike'

he US ambassador to Iraq says Saturday's conference with Iran and Syria on Iraqi security was businesslike and constructive.

Zalmay Khalilzad spoke with reporters by conference call from Baghdad after meeting with representatives of Iran and Syria about helping pacify their neighbor, Iraq.

"The overall mood was businesslike, constructive exchanges, nobody was pounding the table, the exchanges were quite, I would say, ordinary and there was a frank and sometimes even jovial exchanges," he said after the meeting in the US Green Zone in Baghdad.

Why yes, I've attended many business meetings where we exchanged accusations of kidnapping and inciting violence. Who hasn't?

Then we come to this one.

Iraq says Baghdad conference a success

Iraq signalled that world powers and neighbouring countries, including Washington and its adversaries Iran and Syria, had agreed in Baghdad it was vital to all to stop sectarian violence spreading in the region.

Well, maybe it was a success after all.

Just tell me something, do bloggers get it much more wrong than these clowns? Just asking.

Us will, will not, will, might talk with Syria and Iran

In reference to the article in my last post, there is this little gem.

At the end of last year, the Baker-Hamilton report, written by a bipartisan commission of Republicans and Democrats, suggested opening talks with Iran and Syria to resolve the Iraqi crisis. However, President Bush has taken a total opposite direction and blames Iran and Syria for the US military losses in Iraq!

No new news there. Bush has always said he won't talk to Iran and Syria.

But then this came out.

After years of refusing to talk directly to Iran and Syria, the White House has done an abrupt about face and is beginning to engage in talks. Within the past two weeks, the administration officials have agreed to high-level talks with Iran and Syria and will begin the process of granting diplomatic recognition to North Korea.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said that although some people are calling U.S. participating in a regional meeting as a policy change that "it is nothing of the sort."

Three things come to mind.

1. I'm thinking of a leopard's ability to change his spots here.

2. Tony Snow is a lying son of a bitch bastard if not just a fool.

3. Don't the eyes look like Bush and Cheney's?

Must Read IMHO

Just so you know what's going on now in Lebanon.

Bombs destroyed two commuter buses today in the small Christian community of Ain Alaq, in the mountains north of Beirut.

Reports of fatalities varied, but ranged from three (Red Cross, security forces) to 12 (LBC and other media sources.) Ten to 20 were wounded. The first bomb was apparently attached to the undercarriage of the first bus while the second was in a back seat on the second, according to my fixer, who is trying to find more info. I’ll update if this changes.

The wounded were civilians possibly traveling to work, marking a change in the two-year campaign of bombings and assassinations that has wracked Lebanon since the killing of Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005. Before, the attacks were either targeted assassinations of well-known anti-Syrian politicians and journalists or small bombs exploded in buildings late at night so as to minimize casualties. This seems aimed at Iraq- or Israel-style terror. Random, anywhere, pitiless.

Details are still emerging, but speculation is rampant. Was this Syria? Hezbollah? CIA? (A Hezbollah spokesman said it was the latter.) Was it a warning to the March 14 coalition not to attend the big rally planned for downtown tomorrow to mark the two-year anniversary of Hariri’s death?

To clarify, the story goes on to say speculation the CIA is behind the bombings is not unusual in the Mid-East and not necessarily correct.

(read more)

Strange bed fellows

I challenge you to get this picture out of your mind.

Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright urged President Bush on Wednesday to go beyond a planned buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq to develop a comprehensive strategy for the area.

They called for wide-ranging talks with Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, and increased autonomy for clashing Iraqi groups. The administration has brushed aside the proposal to engage Syria and Iran.

(read more)