Meanwhile, back in the Holy Land...

CTV.ca: Israeli strike hit Syria nuclear reactor: report

...reports emerged Sunday that an Israeli air attack deep inside Syrian territory last month targeted a partially-built nuclear reactor.

The reactor, similar to a North Korean facility used to stockpile nuclear weapons fuel, was years away from completion. The situation had caused tense deliberations between U.S. President George Bush's administration and the Israeli government, The New York Times reported.
U.S. officials were divided on the Sept. 6 preemptive attack, with some questioning the urgency of Israel's strike on the unused military target.

American and foreign officials told the newspaper it would have been years before the reactor could have been used to produce nuclear fuel that could eventually be processed to make plutonium.

Weeks after the attack, U.S. officials claimed that the strike was aimed either at a nuclear or missile facility that Syria jointly operated with North Korea. American officials told The Times that satellite images had detected the reactor earlier this year.

North Korea's role in assisting the building of the reactor remains unclear. However, North Korea has vehemently denied any involvement in nuclear activities with Syria.

The Israeli government eased its news blackout on reports of the air attack in early October, only releasing preliminary details after Syria's president, Bashar Assad, confirmed the strike on television.

Syria is not obliged to declare the initial stages of construction on a reactor even though it signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The country would also have the legal right to construct a reactor if it is to be used for electricity generation.

Syria's nuclear endeavours have long been considered unthreatening; however Israeli officials were determined to send a message to Syria that even an attempt at nuclear advancement would not be tolerated.

The Times cited American officials as saying Israel's attack may have been a covert warning to Iran and its nuclear aspirations. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor being built by Saddam Hussein's regime.

However, Iran will be a tougher nut to crack...