Experts doubt Syria has resumed nuke activity

Israeli sources to London paper: Damascus adopted Iranian model and is building in multiple sites.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Syrian reactor 224.88 (photo credit: Channel 2)
Syrian reactor 224.88
(photo credit: Channel 2)
A pan-Arab newspaper quoted Israeli military officials Thursday saying that Damascus had resumed its nuclear weapons program one year after Israel allegedly bombed what was believed to be a partially constructed nuclear reactor in Syria. But at least two Syria experts said they were skeptical of the unsourced report in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat for a number of reasons. "We have to be highly suspicious of this kind of news," said Syria expert Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma. "It's a Saudi paper; it has an extremely anti-Syrian view... It's not reliable in that sense. They may be getting this from the Syrian opposition or from the Lebanese. "They say they are getting it from Israelis. [So it could also be that] someone is trying to scuttle the peace talks and turn Israel against Syria." According to Asharq al-Awsat, Israeli military officials told journalists in Israel that Syria had resumed its activities to build a number of nuclear reactors in various locations following the destruction of the alleged nuclear reactor in Deir al-Zor last year. Syria maintains it never had a nuclear weapons program. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBardei has told the board that environmental samples from the site have so far not indicated any secret atomic program. According to the pan-Arab paper, Israeli sources indicated that North Korea was behind the current project and had sent a delegation of experts to visit Syria last month to begin work on its planning. The idea that the Syrians have reactivated its nuclear weapons program is a line that has been pushed by members of the Syrian opposition on their Web sites and e-mails, Landis said. The opposition is concerned about significant pressure the US is facing to engage Syria, as engagement would likely make their role and the monetary support they receive from the American government irrelevant, he added. Within the last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Assistant Secretary David Welch met with Syrian Foreign Minister Wallid Muallem, suggesting America might be on the verge of dropping its long-time diplomatic freeze with Syria, Landis said. The opposition "is trying to scuttle this," he said. A second Syria expert, who asked to remain anonymous, also warned that the Asharq al-Awsat report should be taken with a grain of salt in light of its Saudi ownership and recent events in the region. Syria and Saudi Arabia are adversaries in the region over the issue of Lebanon. Saudi Arabia strongly supported former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and blamed Syria for his assassination. In addition, the US-backed Saudis are also angry with Syria for its support of Hizbullah in Lebanon, he said. A number of events in Syria are still waiting to play out. Syrian officials have reportedly pointed the finger at Sunni extremists for last Saturday's suicide bombing that killed 17 people in Damascus. In addition, thousands of Syrian forces have recently been deployed to Lebanon's northern border, allegedly to combat smuggling, sparking concern among some in Lebanon and in the United States that Syria may invade the country once again. Syrian President Bashar Assad had recently warned that "extremist forces" were operating in northern Lebanon and were destabilizing the country. But at least some experts argue that a Syrian invasion of Lebanon at this stage would be unlikely. "As I see it, the Syrians tried to warn Lebanon that Damascus takes the Sunni radical threat from the Tripoli area seriously, while also showing the West that Syria is taking measures to control its borders to curtail smuggling," Timur Goksel, the former senior adviser to UNIFIL in Lebanon, told reporters this week. "Although some of the more virulent anti-Syrian figures (in Lebanon) have been trying to create concern about a Syrian invasion of Lebanon, I think most are not concerned as such a move would be counter to Syrian hopes of improving its relations with the West and the Arab world." Meanwhile, Syria is making a bid to sit on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran recently withdrew its own candidacy in support of Syria's bid.