By Stan Goodenough
Nov 11, 2008
Evidence is surfacing that a suspected Syrian nuclear plant bombed by the Israeli Defense Forces nearly a year ago did indeed contain nuclear material.
According to diplomats who only spoke on condition of strict anonymity because they were disclosing confidential information, traces of processed Uranium along with other, unnamed substances, were found at the flattened site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has yet to officially comment on the report, which was carried in all the Israeli news media Monday evening.
Apart from the Syrian plant, Israel has a history of going after nuclear reactors in its neighborhood it feels pose a threat to the Jewish state.
In 1981 Israel bombed the French-built reactor in Osirak, Iraq, destroying it shortly before it went on line.
The entire international community condemned the Israeli "aggression" at the time, though US officials later voiced their appreciation to Jerusalem for preventing Saddam Hussein from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Speculation is relatively high in Israel that the country will go after Iran's nuclear program in the coming days, before US President-Elect Barack Obama is inaugurated.