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Israel, U.S. plan to release details on Syria attack
By Barak Ravid and Amos Harel
Israel and the United States are coordinating the release of details on the
air force strike in Syria last September, which foreign reports claim targeted
a nuclear installation Syria was constructing with North Korean assistance.
American officials may reveal details of the strike later this month during
congressional hearings.
Even though the defense establishment in Israel is opposed to any publication
of details of the attack, the Prime Minister's Bureau and U.S. President
George W. Bush's administration are of the opinion that it is now possible to
reveal details because there is little chance of a conflagration as a result
of a Syrian decision to avenge the attack.
Details of the attack are likely to be revealed by senior Bush administration
officials during hearings before Congress. Advisers to Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turjeman, discussed the issue last week in
Washington with senior U.S. intelligence officials, and National Security
Adviser Stephen Hadley.
During the meetings, the two sides agreed on which details of the attack to
make public and which details could have negative implications. According to
foreign reports, Israel transfered to the U.S. detailed intelligence on the
installation attacked, and the two sides agreed not to reveal any details
without prior coordination.
The view in Washington and in Jerusalem is that publishing details of the
attack will bolster Israel's deterrence and may even lead Syria to cool its
close ties with Iran and North Korea.
According to the American assessments, the revelations about the attack will
also bolster its hand in negotiations with North Korea on dismantling its
nuclear arms.
However, the Israel defense establishment is strongly opposed to revealing any
details of the attack in Syria and expressed concern that any airing of the
details of the attack will result in lifting the strict censorship that was
imposed in Israel on this incident.
Senior figures in the defense establishment and the Israel Defense Forces said
in recent day that Israel must convince the Americans to deliver the report to
Congress "in closed session."
Intelligence analysts in Israel maintain that any further release of the
details on the strike will contribute to the already tense situation between
Syria and Israel, which has been exacerbated in part because of Hezbollah's
plans to avenge the assassination of the group's terrorist mastermind, Imad
Mughniyah.
Any official release of the details of the attack and the nature of the
installation may push Syria's Bashar Assad into a corner and put pressure him
to respond, say intelligence officials.
The possibility of details being made public has also contributed to the
mutual suspicions between the PMO and the Defense Minister's Bureau. In
political circles it is now commonly accepted that the release of details of
the attack may help bolster the public image of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Some politicians have offered assessments that Olmert may decide to lift the
curtain on details of the attack close to the 60th anniversary of Israel's
independence, in early May.
Other political sources say that the American revelations on this matter will
not result in a change in Israel's censorship policy, and insist that Olmert
will not discuss the subject of the attack during holiday interviews.
The hearings at the House Intelligence Committee may be held in the coming
weeks. Congressmen have included in the bill on the intelligence budget that
American intelligence agencies will not be given large portions of their
budget unless they reveal in full the details of the strike in Syria and the
nuclear cooperation between Pyongyang and Damascus.
This has led U.S. and Israeli officials to conclude that American officials
will release details of the strike during the hearings.
Talks between the U.S. and North Korea are schedule to resume tomorrow in
Singapore. One of the American conditions for lifting the sanctions on
Pyongyang is for it to expose its nuclear collaboration with other countries,
which North Korea maintains does not exist. According to South Korean media
sources, Pyongyang has agreed to provide the U.S. with information on its
nuclear cooperation with Syria, on condition that Washington will not make
this public. The same sources stated that the U.S. has given North Korea a
list of engineers that are suspected of involvement in the construction of the
installation that was targeted in Syria.
Meanwhile, readiness levels are high at Northern Command and in security for
Israeli missions abroad, as well as at airlines, as concerns remain that
Hezbollah will try to avenge the assassination of its terrorist mastermind,
Imad Mughniyah in February.
The statement by Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week, that Israel would
retaliate with a heavy hand against any attack, was made following
deliberations with intelligence officials. There are concerns that an order to
carry out a terrorist attack has already been issued - and Barak's tough words
were meant to signal Hezbollah and its patrons, Syria and Iran, that Israel
will respond to any attack.
Related articles:
# ANALYSIS: The air strike in Syria is a secret that cannot be kept
# IDF lifts censorship of Sept. 6 IAF strike on target inside Syria
# J'lem outraged by Netanyahu's admission of IAF strike on Syria
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