Defector exposed Western intelligence failure on Syrian nuclear plant

A former German government official, Hans Rühle, has disclosed classified information on the discovery of Syria's covert nuclear plant that was built with North Korean assistance before being destroyed in an Israel air strike.

Ruhle stated in a column that appeared in the Zurich newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung on March 19 that Iran helped finance the Syrian plant at al Kibar. He stated the CIA's role in the defection of Iranian defector Ali Reza Asghari in February 2007 was "a spectacular intelligence coup."

In addition to details of Iran's nuclear program, Asghari's "biggest surprise" was the disclosure that Iran was bankrolling the Syrian-North Korean nuclear program.

The disclosure embarrassed not only the Americans, which spend billions monitoring foreign nuclear developments, but the Israelis as well, who had thought that Syria's weapons of mass destruction programs were limited to chemical and biological weapons.

Ruhle said the late Syrian leader Hafez Assad decided to cooperate with Iran and North Korea on the nuclear project with the goal of developing nuclear weapons.

North Korean ship traffic to Syria began the first deliveries of equipment in 2002 but aroused no suspicions from U.S. or Israeli intelligence. It wasn't until the fall of 2006 that suspicions began to arise.

One reason for the intelligence failure was the fact that there was no electronic communications coming from the al Kabir construction site, Ruhle said.

Instead, the Syrians used couriers to communicate on the al Kibar project.

What does this tell us across the board about our enemies?

Ashgari's revelations took western intelligence by surprise and they launched a top secret operation to find out about the plant, he stated. The operation included a 12-man commando unit in two helicopters to obtain soil samples and photographs of the plant. The mission proved it was a North Korean design reactor.

That led to the Israeli F-15 bombing raid on Sept, 6, 2007 that took the Syrians by complete surprise.

So despite all the vigilance of life after 9/11 we are still so reliant on technical means against those trying to harm us in any and every way we are BLIND if they are intelligent?

The North Korean role in the reactor was kept secret for months to avoid upsetting the six-nation nuclear talks on North Korea, which had become a centerpiece of the Bush administration's Asian diplomacy. The talks ultimately failed.

Ruhle said Israel estimated the Syrian nuclear program cost Iran between $1 billion and $2 billion.

"The deterrent effect of the Israeli action in September 2007 will probably not last," he stated.

Iran is a national and a terrorist enemy. They own both HAMAS and Hizballah. They have a clear set of objectives both national and religious, and all the confidence in the world that it is god who stays OUR HAND, and BLINDS us.

I hear music playing, but no one is dancing.

COMPLAINING PERSOPHILES, HIZBALLOIDS AND PROGESSIVE DELUSIONARIES COMMENT HERE

UPDATE from Mahmoud:

Iran "Is Known to the World as a Nation that Cannot Be Defeated"

"Thanks to the steadfastness of the Iranian nation, which stands behind the dear leader [Khamenei], this nation continues in its glorious path and is known to the world as a nation that cannot be defeated. Today, thanks to great achievements, the threat to Iran has been lifted, and no power in the world entertains the notion of taking action against the Iranian nation. Even if someone were to entertain this notion and want to undertake any act of aggression against the nation... he should know that the Iranian nation is ready, and any hand outstretched in order to attack will be cut off.

"The Iranian nation is one of civilization, culture, and values. It is peace-loving, and [its people are] people of reason and dialogue, justice and brotherhood. It desires that this atmosphere should exist throughout the world. They [the West] say that the world cannot be run through terror or militarism. We say the same thing; in fact, this is the deepest wish of the Iranian nation. However, the question here is: why are they making shows of force thousands of kilometers from their borders and attacking other nations? Stop your shows of force and aggression, and look to the world in peace and tranquility..."