North Korean and Syria may be co-operating on reactorPDFPrintE-mail
World
Written by Chris Perver  
Thursday, 13 September 2007 07:51
US officials have revealed that satellite imagery taken by Israel over the past six months has led them to believe that North Korea may be co-operating with Syria in an effort to construct nuclear facilities on its territory. North Korea announced in October of last year that it had successfully tested a nuclear device, but the state recently abandoned its nuclear programme after accepting a package of incentives offered by the United States. Last year President Bush warned North Korea that the sale of its nuclear technology to states such as Iran and Syria would be perceived as a "grave threat". If these satellite images prove to be accurate, it seems those fears are now being manifested...

Quote: "The new information, particularly images received in the past 30 days, has been restricted to just a few senior officials under the instructions of national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, leaving many in the intelligence community unaware of it or uncertain of its significance, sources told the Washington Post on condition of anonymity. A White House spokesman and the Israeli Embassy declined to comment Wednesday after several days of inquiries. A Syrian Embassy spokesman told the Washington Post he could not immediately provide a statement. The New York Times first reported on the intelligence linking North Korea and Syria. Since the alleged Israeli attack in Syria occurred, the Israeli government has refused to divulge any details, but a former Israeli official said he had been told that it was an attack against a facility capable of making unconventional weapons.

Frustration is also growing with Iran, as efforts to impose tougher sanctions on the state are opposed by the European Union. The international community has tried everything in its power to diplomatically resolve the nuclear stand off. Iran has repeatedly stalled talks held by the EU, rebuffed Javier Solana's package of incentives and threatened to harm US interests worldwide if sanctions are imposed against it. The diplomatic approach has failed with Iran, for President Ahmadinejad is bent on obtaining nuclear weapons and destroying the Jewish state. President Ahmadinejad believes that worldwide chaos will hasten the appearance of the Mahdi, the Islamic "Messiah", who will conquer Jerusalem and install a global caliphate. According to intelligence analysts, Iran may only be a few years away from possessing enough Uranium to manufacture a nuclear weapon. As a result the US military is preparing for the eventual breakdown of the diplomatic approach, and a US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could come in as soon as 8-10 months

Quote: "According to the report, Germany's decision has spurred senior US army officials to try and convince US Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice to abandon once and for all the diplomatic route of preventing a nuclear Iran. The report further stated that the date of preference for an attack against Iran is in eight to 10 months - after the US presidential candidates for both the Democrats and the Republicans have been chosen, but before the major presidential campaign kicks off.

Previous Iranian Ayatollahs have boasted that it would only take one weapon to destroy Israel, while any Israeli response would only inflict limited damage on Iran due to the country's immense size. It is imperative that Iran does not acquire a single tactical nuclear warhead. Former Iranian President Hashemi-Rafsanjani, elected this month as chairperson of the Iranian Assembly of Experts which overseas the work of the Supreme Ayatollah, had this to say about Israel and Islam's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons...

Quote: ""If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession, the strategy of colonialism would face a stalemate because application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world", Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani told the crowd at the traditional Friday prayers in Tehran.

Source Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Iran Press Service, Muslim News

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