What does Israel’s feat in smashing Syria’s nuclear reactor in 2007 mean for today’s challenges?
The IDF censor on Wednesday, March 21, cleared a partial account of how 8 Israeli fighter jets destroyed the Syrian-Iranian-North Korean plutonium reactor on Sept. 6, 2007. While Israel’s air force and intelligence services deserve full credit for this extraordinary feat, it’s a pity that the newly-published account neglected the dangerous role played by a ground force in the operation.
The arguments raging among the top officials before and after it was over are of less interest than the question that still lingers to this day: Why did Israel and the IDF fail to take the next step, after smashing Syria’s ability to manufacture a nuke, and destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program which was still in its infancy? After all the Syrian operation was not the first. On June 7, 1981, Israel smashed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor in Iraq.
The circumstances in each case were different. After IDF forces left a pile of rubble at the Deir ez=Zour site of the Syrian reactor, Ehud Olmert, then prime minister, phoned US President George W. Bush to let him know that it was finished. The US was evidently on board. But a strike against the Iranian nuclear program ran into heavy opposition in some Israel security circles, who were backed by President Barack Obama and secretary Hillary Clinton. So that moment was missed. After that, Iran has arrayed its nuclear facilities in way that made it impossible for a lone Israel air force operation to do more than disable it in part, without US military participation at some point.
In 2012, Israel had a rare opportunity for acting unaided in a great project for safeguarding its future and swaying the strategic destiny of the Middle East as well. But its leaders, divided and sunk in personal upmanship squabbles – much like today – missed that last train. Iran and nuclear weapons program consequently raced ahead until Tehran was in position to negotiate terms with the United States and achieve the flawed 2015 deal that preserved its nuclear program intact.
Since there is no going back for rewriting the deal, the incumbent US President Donald Trump is on the point of abandoning it. But Tehran has meanwhile expanded its capabilities for menace. Israel’s passivity in the face of the Syrian war’s takeover by Iran and Hizballah leaves the Jewish state in jeopardy of their reprisal from three fronts. Are the days of Israel’s go-it-alone derring-do really over?
Two less nuclear weapons facilities the civilized world has had to worry about!
Civilized! Like kid killers wearing police uniform, like criminals with diplomatic official gesture, like fascists who run for elections, racists are civilized, the zionist civilization
hahahahahahahahahahah
Obviously you are demented & have no sense of reality. Nice try to push a crazy political agenda, but you went too far & sound insane!
The state of Israel exists THANKS to anti-semites like you. Without your ilk there would have been no push or movement for a Jewish state so we should thankou.
It exists because Jesus Christ wants it to.
bombed syria and left iran to florish .gj. no serious
D a ring-Do
When the day Israel bomb Iran nuclear facilities, it will be the day Dimona becomes rubble too.
What you conveniently overlook is that Israel has a) the worlds best intelligence network and b) a four level anti missile defense system and c) the US, Egypt, Saudis and UAE on its side.
Sure Israel will suffer as all countries do in war, but it will prevail as if it doesn’t, the world as we know it is gone.
If the US or Israel suffer a nuke attack,
in return Tehran, Qom, and more, will become as hot as the surface of the Sun.
The day will come when Barak Hussain Obama’s work in Iran is turned into a glass parking lot.
Iran’s nuclear facilities will soon become destroyed. It is a good thing that they built them in the desert where the fallout will be away from the main population areas. The good people of Iran will then be able to take their country back from the ayatollahs and live in peace with the rest of the civilized world.
I’m not religious but clearly Israel needs some form of divine intervention were they to try and disable the Iranian nuclear programne single handedly. Simply not possible. The US can do it as only they have the ability to carry out the requisite 2,000+ sorties.
If anything needs to be done it’ll need to be done with no civilian casualties in Iran. Otherwise it’ll be counter productive.
All the ayatoolahs of fascist iran need to be hung like haman and his sons.
That bombing was a false flag.
It’s only a matter of time before the USA wipes Iran ?? of the map destroys Iran ?? and makes Iran a former country
Destroying the reactor in Syria was good work by the IDF but gathering the intelligence before was excellent work of Israels “foreign trade ministry”