The above photos show what is believed to be a Syrian nuclear weapons facility before Israel took it out (left side) and now (right side)

New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.

Two photos, taken Wednesday from space by rival companies, show the site near the Euphrates River to have been wiped clean since August, when imagery showed a tall square building there measuring about 150 feet on a side.

The Syrians reported an attack by Israel in early September; the Israelis have not confirmed that. Senior Syrian officials continue to deny that a nuclear reactor was under construction, insisting that Israel hit a largely empty military warehouse.

But the images, federal and private analysts say, suggest that the Syrian authorities rushed to dismantle the facility after the strike, calling it a tacit admission of guilt.

“It’s a magic act — here today, gone tomorrow,” a senior intelligence official said. “It doesn’t lower suspicions; it raises them. This was not a long-term decommissioning of a building, which can take a year. It was speedy. It’s incredible that they could have gone to that effort to make something go away.”

Good job, Israel! Good job!

I don’t speak diplomatese, but the following is a statement from the Syrian representative to the UN’s annual conference on disarmament.

He appears to have verified Israel did hit a nuclear facility in Syria, although my muddled brain doesn’t see that. He does appear to the Sept. 6 attack on Syria, but called it July 6 when he made his speech.

Also speaking in the right of reply, the representative of Syria said that the delegation of Israel had spoken out of context yesterday. Israel had used lies and accusations, which was not useful since the entire world was aware of the objectives and practices of that “colonial” entity, which encouraged State terrorism and had never respected the resolutions adopted against it by the United Nations. There had been politically motivated acts by Israel against Syria, and, at the same time, Israel had tried to distract attention from its actions, in particular, its interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon.

Concerning the Lebanese border, he said that the Lebanese Minister of Defence had denied that anything had crossed the border, and those controlling the border had confirmed that. Syria had informed the Secretary-General of that in writing. Contacts between Lebanese and Syrian authorities had been ongoing to protect the border, and the countries had regularly reported to the Security Council on their meetings. Syria had also recently increased the number of guards on its border, preventing any transfer of weapons from Iraq or any other countries. In a letter dated 4 May, Syria had reported on that. It had also asked Europe for help in securing its border, but had not received any such assistance.

The accusations by Israel, therefore, were totally unjustified. Israel was an “enemy entity” occupying Syrian territory. Israel regularly filmed trucks carrying fruits and vegetables into the country, and had recently bombed one of them. Israel was building eight reactors in a small territory and preparing itself “in nuclear terms” for a possible war, with 20 nuclear warheads, using thousands of cluster bombs, and not providing maps to show where they were dropped or where the nuclear waste was being disposed of. It was an entity that claimed that Gaza was trying to occupy areas, when it was itself occupying territory.

Moreover, the entity that was the fourth largest exporter of lethal weapons in the world, that which violated the airspace of sovereign States and carried out military aggression against them, as had happened on 6 September against Syria, such an entity, with all those characteristics and more, had no right to go on lying without shame.

People who do speak diplomatese claim this is verification Israel hit a nuclear facility in Syria.

Diplomats familiar with the document cannot explain why July 6 was invoked, instead of Sept. 6, the date both countries say an incident occurred. A State Department source tells FOX News the best explanation is that Darwish misspoke.

The document, released by the General Assembly’s Department of Public Information, recounted Tuesday’s proceedings at the annual gathering of the U.N.’s Disarmament and International Security Committee.

What is clear is that this is the first time Syria has acknowledged its nuclear efforts.

One U.S. delegate told colleagues he could not believe his ears when the Syrian diplomat made his statement and that the resulting document was close to verbatim, and another source told FOX News the document reinforces what people heard [the Syrian representative] say in the actual debate.

Syria already has disowned the remarks, adding “such facilities do not exist in Syria.”

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, quoting an unnamed Foreign Ministry source, said the U.N. press release misquoted the diplomat and that Syria had made it clear that there are no such facilities in Syria.

Based on the last paragraph in the second quote, it would seem even Syria believes the Syrian delegate spilled the beans.

Maybe he’d better seek political asylum someplace.

When you are a tiny country surrounded by enemies that would destroy you, what do you do when you find out one of your closest neighbors is building a nuclear weapon?

Do you wait for them to use it on you or do you go after it before it’s completed in order to save your country and citizens?

I’d opt to go after them in a preemtive strike.

Israel’s air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports.

The description of the target addresses one of the central mysteries surrounding the Sept. 6 attack, and suggests that Israel carried out the raid to demonstrate its determination to snuff out even a nascent nuclear project in a neighboring state. The Bush administration was divided at the time about the wisdom of Israel’s strike, American officials said, and some senior policy makers still regard the attack as premature.

Regardless of how the New York Times tries to make the nuclear site look like a small affair by saying nuclear material can be used for weapons or for peaceful purposes, and regardless of their expert saying it would take three to six years to develop the bomb from the technology, the Israelis did the right thing.

The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.Isaiah 17:1 KJV

We’re beginning to hear a little more about what happened in Syria on Sept. 6, 2007.

We are reading today that Israeli forces, probably dressed in Syrian uniforms, infiltrated what is a nuclear facility in Syria. This was done to gather samples of material in the secret military facility to determine if they were nuclear weapons or not.

It was discovered it was nuclear material originating from North Korea and confirmed to the White House before Washington would give its blessing on the attack.

Israeli sources admitted that special forces had been accruing intelligence in Syria for several months, the report said, adding that evidence of North Korean activity at the installation was presented to President George Bush during the summer.

According to the Times, North Korea and China believed that North Koreans were among the dead in the subsequent alleged IAF air strike.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Israel and the United States had collaborated on intelligence ahead of the alleged IAF raid.

According to the Post report, Israel informed the US over the summer that North Korean personnel were in Syria in order to assist the country’s nuclear weapons program. The intelligence in question reportedly included satellite imagery.

Meanwhile, Newsweek quoted Binyamin Netanyahu adviser Uzi Arad in reference to the Syria operation. “I do know what happened, and when it comes out it will stun everyone,” he said.

Needless to say, Israeli sources are not too happy with Netanyahu for confirming this secret raid.

So, why have I begun the post with a quote from the prophet Isaiah? Because Damascus is the only city that has never not been a city since its inception. It has never been destroyed as Jerusalem or any other city in the history of man.

In other words, it is unfulfilled prophecy, and if we believe the Bible is the inerrent Word of God then we know at some point it must be fulfilled.

Just when that time is we don’t know so anything I say here is purely conjecture except for the fact I know Damascus will be destroyed one day. I just don’t know when.

Obadiah gives us a little more of a hint about what will happen:

And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. Obadiah 1:8 KJV

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. Jacob received his father Isaac’s blessing by tricking him into thinking he was Esau, and it was Jacob who became Israel and fathered the original twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph was one of Jacob’s or Israel’s twelve sons.

Esau, on the other hand, married a woman who worshipped a false god and became one of them.

In this passage Jacob is Israel and Esau is the Arabs or Muslims since Iran is not Arabian.

What is the best educated guess as to how Damascus will be destroyed? We see that in Zechariah:

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. Zechariah 14:12 KJV

Using the vocabulary he had in the fifth century B.C. Zechariah seems to have been describing nuclear annihilation. Not just to Syria but to all people who have fought against Jerusalem, or Israel.

Although the Israelis do not admit it, it is a well-known secret they have nuclear capability.

Surely they have thought about a scenario where they would have to annihilate Syria (Damascus) without killing themselves. How about if they have a neutron bomb that will kill people but leave buildings intact and allow other people to go there safely afterwards?

Except Isaiah says Damascus will be a heap.

I don’t have all the answers and am not a biblical scholar, but I can read and I can ponder. I just can’t figure out how it will all come about. But I know it’s going to happen and if Damascus keeps trying to wage a destructive war against Israel I also know Israel will destroy Syria even if it means its own destruction.

They have no choice.

We need all the help that we can get.

Most Syrians favor working with the United States to seek an end to the Iraq war, yet also support financing Iraqi fighters and other Middle East groups the U.S. considers terrorists, according to a rare poll of Syrians released Wednesday.
The survey also found that an overwhelming number of Syrians consider trade and political relations with Western countries important, but they narrowly oppose closer ties to the U.S.

The poll was sponsored by Terror Free Tomorrow, a bipartisan organization that seeks to erode support for international terrorism. Its advisory board includes Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presidential candidate, and former House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash.

Earlier this month, the group released a survey of Iranians that found most favored their country developing nuclear weapons.

Objective public opinion surveys are unusual in Syria, whose regime — led by President Bashar Assad — has imprisoned pro-democracy supporters.

The United States has largely sought to isolate Syria, which it considers a major destabilizing influence in the Middle East.

The U.S. has repeatedly accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq to join forces with al-Qaida and anti-U.S. insurgent groups, which Syria denies. Syria has also been accused of helping Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian radicals and other militant groups.

In the poll, 63 percent of Syrians said they favor their country working with the U.S. to resolve the war in Iraq. By a slight 44 percent to 39 percent margin, most said they oppose fighters crossing from Syria into Iraq.

Yet three-fourths said they support financial assistance for Iraqi fighters, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. The U.S. considers Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.

In addition, seven in 10 said Syria should refuse U.S. investments and trade “to create more jobs in Syria,” with similar numbers opposing U.S. investments in energy refineries and U.S. humanitarian aid.

“Even though they don’t support the U.S. — in fact that’s an understatement, they’re very negative about the U.S. — they still want to work with the U.S.,” said Ken Ballen, president of Terror Free Tomorrow. “They still want the war resolved, and they’re willing for their government to work with the U.S. to resolve it.”

Story

Go to this link and read Clarice Feldman’s report by Dr. Laurie Mylroie on the anthrax that was mailed to Senators Daschle and Leahy several years ago.

From Dr. Mylroie’s report, enough to whet your appetite from the piece:

To start, I have believed all along that Iraqi intelligence had their dirty hands on this event. Based on ISG findings that Iraq had apparently decided in 1994 to not attempt production, but rather only research to enhance “break-out” capability and that the Iraqi and Syrian intelligence services had formed an alliance to develop the field “in chemical and biological of mutual interest,” I now suspect that Syria made the anthrax product with Iraqi Intelligence assistance. The cooperation included Iraqi scientists assisting the Syrians.