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Washington: Syria has begun dismantling the remains of a site Israel bombed on September 6 in what may be an attempt to prevent the location from coming under international scrutiny, said US and foreign officials familiar with the aftermath of the attack.
Based on overhead photography, the officials say the site in Syria's eastern desert near the Euphrates River had a 'signature' or characteristics of a small but substantial nuclear reactor, one similar in structure to North Korea's facilities.
The dismantling of the damaged site, which appears to be still underway, could make it difficult for weapons inspectors to determine the precise nature of the facility and how Syria planned to use it. Syria, which possesses a small reactor used for scientific research, has denied seeking to expand its nuclear programme. But US officials knowledgeable about the Israeli raid have described the target as a nuclear facility being constructed with North Korean assistance.
Different picture
The bombed facility is different from the one Syria displayed to journalists last week to back its allegations that Israel had bombed essentially an empty building, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity because details of the Israeli attack are classified.
While US officials express increasing confidence that the Syrian facility was nuclear-related, divisions persist within the government and among weapons experts over the significance of the threat. If the facility was a nuclear reactor, US weapons experts said it would almost certainly have taken Syria several years to complete the structure, and much longer to produce significant quantities of plutonium for potential use in nuclear weapons. Nuclear reactors also are used to generate electricity.
"This isn't like a Road Runner cartoon where you call up Acme Reactors and they deliver a functioning reactor to your backyard. It takes years to build," said Joseph Cirincione, director for nuclear policy at the Centre for American Progress. "This is an extremely demanding technology, and I don't think Syria has the technical, engineering or financial base to really support such a reactor."
While expressing concern over the prospect that Syria may have decided to launch a nuclear programme in secret, some weapons experts question why neither Israel nor the United States made any effort before the secret attack - or in the six weeks since - to offer evidence to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a move that would trigger an inspection of Syria by the nuclear watchdog.
"The reason we have an IAEA and a safeguard system is that, if there is evidence of wrongdoing, it can be presented by a neutral body to the international community so that a collective response can be pursued," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.
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