By YOSSI MELMAN in addition to DAN RAVIV
Even if President Donald Trump is able to orbit an understanding alongside Kim Jong Un, alongside Democratic People's South Korea promising to freeze or fifty-fifty dismantle its nuclear program, at that spot volition ever live uncertainty virtually possible cheating.Just inquire Israel—which, despite having 1 of the world’s most competent in addition to aggressive tidings services, the Mossad—nearly missed the fact that Democratic People's South Korea was helping build a nuclear reactor inwards next-door Syria, a province long viewed yesteryear State of Israel every bit a unsafe threat. The American CIA missed it, too, in addition to now, eleven years after Israeli air forcefulness jets bombed the undercover Syrian facility, Israel’s armed services censor is lastly lifting the veil of secrecy in addition to permitting locally based reporters to give away interviews alongside participants inwards the functioning for the initiatory off time. We spoke alongside dozens of old cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, every bit good every bit armed services in addition to tidings chiefs in addition to commanders in addition to fifty-fifty roughly of the pilots who took component subdivision inwards the operation. The codename for the Sept. 6, 2007, raid, conducted nigh the remote desert metropolis of Deir ez-Zur: “Outside the Box.” Before today, State of Israel has never officially acknowledged its existence. Years later, Israeli spooks are all the same raising bitter questions virtually the CIA’s tidings failure. Former Mossad manager Tamir Pardo asked inwards an interview alongside us: “Where were the Americans? Democratic People's South Korea is a highly of import target for them. And it all the same isn’t clear whether [Syrian President Bashar] Assad was running the nuclear project, or was it the North Koreans?” The old spy main added that he has roughly doubts that Syrian Arab Republic was going to hold the plutonium, or perchance it was going to live shipped to Democratic People's South Korea every bit a furnish of which the West would live unaware. “This is a resounding failure yesteryear the Americans,” Pardo said.
Pardo’s questions heighten another: If 1 of the best tidings communities inwards the world, in addition to surely the most formidable inwards the Middle East, could live fooled yesteryear North Koreans in addition to Syrians, what mightiness the CIA live missing? That could live truthful inwards Korea, inwards Iran, or almost anywhere on Earth.
The Israeli air forcefulness raid on a secluded, unmarked edifice inwards northeastern Syrian Arab Republic took place—a few minutes after midnight betwixt 5thand sixth of September. To laid on deep inwards enemy territory is easy, but Israel’s American-made F-15 in addition to F-16 jets enjoyed protection yesteryear sophisticated electronic jamming that blinded Syria’s air defenses, in addition to they had no problem dropping tons of explosives on the target in addition to confirming visually that it had been flattened. (Photos, many provided yesteryear Israeli intelligence, were released yesteryear the CIA to Congress – in addition to instantly leaked to the media inwards Washington.)
The Syrian facility was almost identical to the Yongbyon nuclear complex inwards Democratic People's South Korea that produced plutonium for nuclear bombs, according to Israeli tidings officials, in addition to it was exclusively weeks away from outset to gain highly radioactive materials.
Deir ez-Zur, the largest metropolis inwards eastern Syria, would live captured inwards 2014 yesteryear ISIS forces in addition to hence held yesteryear the Islamic militants for to a greater extent than than 3 years. Just imagine if ISIS had gotten its hands on plutonium in addition to other parts designed to cook nuclear bombs. Israel’s activity – a hard determination yesteryear then-Prime Minister Olmert, after he unsuccessfully asked President George W. Bush to bomb the edifice –prevented the world’s most bloodthirsty terrorists from acquiring the world’s most lethal weapons.
Israeli ministers in addition to officials are proud of it. Olmert, who later on resigned among accusations of corruption, which eventually after beingness indicted yesteryear a courtroom landed him inwards prison theatre for xviii months, told us it was 1 of his most of import in addition to hard decisions. Even his nemesis, hence defence government minister Ehud Barak, said inwards an interview: “Olmert deserve total credit for the brazen decision.”
Lifting the veil of secrecy also reveals an ego battle for credit betwixt Israel’s 2 largest tidings agencies. “The exposure of the reactor is 1 of the non bad achievements of Military Intelligence [the means known yesteryear its Hebrew acronym, Aman] inwards particular, in addition to of Israeli tidings inwards general,” said Brig. Gen. Shalom Dror, who inwards 2007 was a major inwards accuse of Aman’s inquiry on Syria. Yet Pardo, who was deputy manager of the Mossad at the fourth dimension (and from 2011 through 2015 the spy agency’s chief), differs: “For years, Syrian Arab Republic built a nuclear reactor nether our noses, in addition to nosotros did non know virtually it for years. It was non built on the dark side of the moon, but inwards a neighboring province where nosotros ever idea nosotros know almost everything.”
Israel’s highest ranking full general at the time, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, recalled receiving reports on many Arab countries from Aman in addition to the Mossad, but none linked the words “Syria” in addition to “nuclear” inwards whatever serious way. “Sure, suspicions arose, but at that spot was no proof,” continued Ashkenazi, who has since retired. “And inwards tidings function at that spot were a lot of suspicions. Syrian nuclear was non a dependent area considered to live important.”
Ram Ben-Barak, senior human being inwards the Mossad for many years who was hence caput of 1 of its operations, told us: “Anyone who says that he knew that Syrian Arab Republic was edifice a nuclear reactor either doesn’t know or isn’t telling the truth. When nosotros brought the information, it was a consummate surprise. Until then, the assessment was maybe yes, maybe no—that perchance they were planning a nuclear projection yesteryear the road of enriching uranium, in addition to perchance a reactor to gain plutonium. In short, nosotros didn’t know at all what to hold back for.”
The fact that at that spot was whatever attending paid to the possibility of a secret Syrian computer program at all was the effect of a trauma suffered yesteryear Israeli tidings nigh the cease of 2003. Libya’s dictator, the belatedly Col. Muammar Gaddafi, publicly admitted that he had a nuclear weapons program. Western governments speedily discovered that the knowhow in addition to materials had been sold to the Libyans yesteryear Abdul Qadeer Khan, the so-called manly someone bring upwards of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, who later on became a freelancer in addition to made a fortune every bit a nuclear trafficker.
Israel’s spy chiefs winced every bit they admitted they had made an fault comparable to the 1973 war, when the Jewish province was taken yesteryear surprise yesteryear its neighbor’s armies on Yom Kippur. Israeli tidings had non completely ignored A.Q. Khan. They had strong evidence that he helped Islamic Republic of Iran launch its military, unacknowledged, nuclear ambitions. But they did non realize that his sales efforts had succeeded elsewhere.
Shabtai Shavit, who was the manager of the Mossad inwards the 1990s, told us a few years agone that Israeli tidings knew virtually Khan’s travels inwards the Middle East – hawking his wares – but did non sympathise how the Pakistani engineer could provide a quick in addition to relatively slow kit for starting the road toward a nuclear arsenal. “If nosotros had understood, I would receive got recommended that he live assassinated,” Shavit said, “and that would receive got been 1 of the few times that eliminating a someone could receive got changed history.”
After the revelation that Gaddafi’s Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was dangerously advanced inwards its nuclear work, Israel’s armed services tidings chiefs ordered that every fighting of evidence that had been collected – but filed away without much analysis – live looked at again. Aman constitute reports of Khan’s visits to Saudi Arabia, Arab Republic of Egypt in addition to Syria. Because the initiatory off 2 countries were friends of the United States, it seemed highly unlikely they would pursue nuclear weapons. The means doubled its focus on Syria, where President Bashar Assad had come upwards to ability inwards 2000 yesteryear default when his manly someone bring upwards died – because his elderberry brother, groomed for leadership, had perished inwards a machine crash.
Israeli tidings saw the novel dictator, who had been working every bit an ophthalmologist inwards London, every bit having a borderline personality—an inexperienced human being who could live tempted to human activity recklessly or adventurously. Because his aspirations could live lethal in addition to he sat on Israel’s northeastern border, Aman commanders decided non to underestimate Assad.
“I had to explicate to my people why I insisted on concerning ourselves alongside Syria,” said a inquiry caput inwards the agency, retired Brig. Gen. Eli Ben-Meir, because the transcend topics at that fourth dimension had been Islamic Republic of Iran in addition to its proxy forcefulness inwards Lebanon, Hezbollah. State of Israel fought a state of war against the Lebanese Shiite militia inwards the summertime of 2006 that was notably frightening due to the constant pelting of rockets from Lebanese Republic that compelled almost a 1000000 Israelis to descend to shelters or motion temporarily to southern Israel.
Ben-Meir told us at that spot were clues inwards Israel’s deep in addition to constant monitoring of Syria. Ships arrived from Asia alongside no apparent purpose. Trucks moved toward the east. Israel’s tidings liaisons asked friendly services, including the CIA, if they had noticed anything of a nuclear nature inwards Syria. The answer was negative.
Pardo’s boss at the time, Meir Dagan (who was manager of the Mossad from 2002 to 2011 in addition to died 2 years ago) joined Chief of Staff Ashkenazi inwards holler for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for an extra budget specifically to hold back for a nuclear projection inwards Syria. Aman’s renowned Unit 8200 greatly increased its monitoring of all Syrian communications.
Ibrahim Othman, manager of Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission, was considered to live the human being who had to know the secrets. He became a high-priority target for Israeli intelligence.
As reported elsewhere, State of Israel Mossad’s operatives broke into rooms where he stayed inwards Europe, including an floor Othman maintained inwards Vienna, Austria, nigh the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency—and constitute a aureate mine. Othman had left a digital device in addition to all its information was sucked out in addition to sent to Israeli tidings laboratories.
Surprisingly, because no 1 believed whatever vital information had been obtained, deciphering it was non a priority. The information was waiting on the laboratory’s shelves a few days until it was lastly deciphered. “My tidings officeholder entered my room,” recalls Ben Barak, “and showed me the photos taken from the phone.” He added, smiling, “Sometimes tidings operations demand luck.”
The photos from Othman’s device showed him inwards the fellowship of roughly North Korean scientists in addition to most importantly were shot within the structure, which clearly revealed that it was a nuclear reactor to gain plutonium.
The photos were the “smoking gun”—the ultimate evidence to corroborate Israel’s suspicions. The information was rushed to Prime Minister Olmert, who approached U.S. President George W. Bush to inquire him if the U.S. would gain something virtually it. Bush said no, explaining that U.S. forces were fully engaged inwards Republic of Iraq in addition to Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan in addition to that he didn’t desire to opened upwards a 3rd front. Nevertheless, Bush didn’t state anything virtually an Israeli raid. For Olmert, that was all he needed. He interpreted Bush’s quiet every bit a light-green lite in addition to instructed Lt.-General Ashkenazi to laid upwards an air strike.
After the raid, State of Israel kept silent—and hence did Assad. Syrian Arab Republic didn’t desire to acknowledge it had violated its international commitments. Israel, for its part, figured out that if it said zilch inwards public, Assad would swallow his pride in addition to non retaliate. Privately, Israeli leaders in addition to chiefs of the armed services in addition to tidings contacted or met their allies inwards the West—the U.S., UK, France, Germany—and inwards the Arab world (Egypt in addition to Jordan) to part alongside them the information behind the raid. Olmert also personally called Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Israel’s calculation that Syrian Arab Republic would non strike dorsum proved correct, in addition to the world seemed relieved that someone had removed a potentially serious threat to peace.
But to take Iran’s or North Korean nuclear threats volition live a much to a greater extent than hard draw if President Trump decides to practise the much-trumpeted armed services option.
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