Two years ago, Israel bombed a suspected nuclear site in Syria. Now the UN's atomic watchdog agency is pressing Damascus for a return visit to the bombed facility -- along with access to other military sites, where the Syrians have been up to some suspicious landscaping.
According to the latest report by the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, inspectors turned up traces of uranium during a 2008 visit to the bombing site at Dair Alzour. Uranium? Gosh, must have been left over from the munitions the Israelis used to bomb our totally non-nuclear related buildings, the Syrians replied. After the IAEA smacked down that claim and demanded further access, the Syrian government was all, hey, you can't go there, those are closed military sites!
Inspectors also found suspect uranium particles in samples taken at Syria's Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus. Earlier this month, Syria tried to explain that away, saying they might have come from indigenous uranium yellowcake or a (d'oh!) previously undeclared supply of uranyl nitrate. That, too, failed to convince the watchdog agency.
In short, Damascus has stalled efforts to determine the origin of nuclear materials uncovered by the UN agency, and has provided scant evidence to support its claims that it wasn't up to any nuclear hanky-panky. "Essentially, no progress has been made since the last report to clarify any of the outstanding issues relevant to the implementation of safeguards," the report states.
In recent months, Iran's nuclear ambitions have become the focus of growing international scrutiny. But Syria, an ally of Iran, has also found itself under the microscope. While inspectors were able to visit the bombed-out site several months after the 2007 Israeli bombing, it's unclear if they will get further access. The agency also announced its intention to carry out an inspection at the MNSR today. We'll see if they get in the door.
[PHOTO: Wikimedia]
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