Even while in the midst of a serious discussion on the ramifications of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East one cannot forget THE essential truth: the Raid on Entebbe's score is pure funk goodness.
As my mom says, don't mess with the Israelis or they will tear your ass up. In the interest of full disclosure, she also says it is no wonder that the Arabs are so angry at Israel because that little country has repeatedly embarrassed all those dumb **insert racial expletive**.
In September of 2008, the Israeli air force--arguably the best air force in the world--launched a bombing raid on a suspected Syrian nuclear facility. Of course, the Syrians denied that they were collaborating with the Iranians and North Koreans on such a project. In hushed tones, the Western intelligence community discussed the details of this raid. By all accounts, the makings of a 007 movie are clearly present. Flybys of President Assad's home to give him a little wake up call (and to point out just how easy the IAF could penetrate Syrian airspace)? Check. Assassinations of high ranking Syrian officials from snipers hidden on board a yacht? Check. Commando insertions to do reconnaissance? Check. Israel "hacking" into the Syrian air defense network in order to deactivate and "spoof" its radars? Check.
I for one love peering behind the curtain and into the world that is shadow ops. Who knows, maybe the American people will get more details on Seal Team Six's work in Somalia where they took out a high ranking Al-Queda operative a few months back. If there is true transparency (yeah right!), we will also find out about the January bombing raid in Sudan conducted by the Israeli Air force with rumored assistance from American operatives and unpiloted aerial vehicles.
The details, or at least those details the Israeli's and their allies want to release, follow in this great piece from Spiegel online, excerpted here:
But on a night two years ago, something dramatic happened in this sleepy place. It's an event that local residents discuss in whispers in teahouses along the river, when the water pipes glow and they are confident that no officials are listening -- the subject is taboo in the state-controlled media, and they know that drawing too much attention to themselves in this authoritarian state could be hazardous to their health.
Some in Deir el-Zor talk of a bright flash which lit up the night in the distant desert. Others report seeing a gigantic column of smoke over the Euphrates, like a threatening finger. Some talk of omens, while others relate conspiracy theories. The pious older guests at Jisr al-Kabir, a popular restaurant near the city's landmark suspension bridge, believe it was a sign from heaven.
All the rumors have long since muddied the waters as to what people may or may not have seen. But even the supposedly advanced Western world, with its state-of-the-art surveillance technology and interconnectedness through the mass media, has little more solid information than the people in this Syrian desert town. What happened in the night of Sept. 6, 2007 in the desert, 130 kilometers (81 miles) from the Iraqi border, 30 kilometers from Deir el-Zor, is one of the great mysteries of our times.
'This Incident Never Occurred'
At 2:55 p.m. on that day, the Damascus-based Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Israeli fighter jets coming from the Mediterranean had violated Syrian airspace at "about one o'clock" in the morning. "Air defense units confronted them and forced them to leave after they dropped some ammunition in deserted areas without causing any human or material damage," a Syrian military spokesman said, according to the news agency. There was no explanation whatsoever for why such a dramatic event was concealed for half a day.
At 6:46 p.m., Israeli government radio quoted a military spokesman as saying: "This incident never occurred." At 8:46 p.m., a spokesperson for the US State Department said during a daily press briefing that he had only heard "second-hand reports" which "contradict" each other.
To this day, Syria and Israel, two countries that have technically been at war since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948, have largely adhered to a bizarre policy of downplaying what was clearly an act of war. Gradually it became clear that the fighter pilots did not drop some random ammunition over empty no-man's land on that night in 2007, but had in fact deliberately targeted and destroyed a secret Syrian complex.
Was it a nuclear plant, in which scientists were on the verge of completing the bomb? Were North Korean, perhaps even Iranian experts, also working in this secret Syrian facility? When and how did the Israelis learn about the project, and why did they take such a great risk to conduct their clandestine operation? Was the destruction of the Al Kibar complex meant as a final warning to the Iranians, a trial run of sorts intended to show them what the Israelis plan to do if Tehran continues with its suspected nuclear weapons program?
In recent months, SPIEGEL has spoken with key politicians and experts about the mysterious incident in the Syrian desert, including Syrian President Bashar Assad, leading Israeli intelligence expert Ronen Bergman, International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohammed ElBaradei and influential American nuclear expert David Albright. SPIEGEL has also talked with individuals involved in the operation, who have only now agreed to reveal, under conditions of anonymity, what they know.
These efforts have led to an account that, while not solving the mystery in its entirety, at least delivers many pieces of the puzzle. It also offers an assessment of an operation that changed the Middle East and generated shock waves that are still being felt today.
****
Don't ever forget that while Shaft was doing some "wet work" in Africa, the Hebrew Hammer had his back stateside:
No comments:
Post a Comment