VIENNA, Austria, Oct. 19, 2007
U.N. Eyes Pics Of Possible Syria Nuke Site
Analyzing Satellite Images Of Facility Struck Last Month By Israeli Warplanes
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(AP / CBS)
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Interactive Nuclear Armed World The world's nuclear weapons powers, missile defense and a history of the nuclear weapons age.
It was unclear where the material was obtained or what exactly it showed. One of the diplomats who is linked to the International Atomic Energy Agency - the U.N. nuclear watchdog examining the photos - said IAEA experts were looking at commercial images, discounting suggestions from other quarters that they had come from U.S. intelligence.
Separately, a senior diplomat familiar with the issue indicated that agency experts were looking at several possible locations for the Israeli strike. Two other diplomats said initial perusal of the material had found no evidence that the target hit Sept. 6 was a nuclear installation. They emphasized, however, that it was too early to draw definite conclusions.
All of those speaking to The Associated Press were briefed on the agency's receipt of the images but demanded anonymity because their information was confidential.
Since the bombing, news media have quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying that the airstrike hit some sort of nuclear facility linked to North Korea, which is now in the process of dismantling its nuclear weapons program. On Friday, The Washington Post cited American officials as saying the site in Syria's eastern desert near the Euphrates River had characteristics of a small but substantial nuclear reactor similar to North Korea's facility.
Fast Fact
Officials of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog and the U.S. diplomatic mission to the IAEA had no comment Friday. But IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming indirectly rebuked Washington earlier this week, saying the agency “expects any country having information about nuclear-related activities in another country to provide that information to the IAEA.”Two diplomats said initial perusal of the material had found no evidence that the target hit Sept. 6 was a nuclear installation. They emphasized, however, that it was too early to draw definite conclusions.
The investigation by the IAEA is important because it is the first instance of an independent and respected organization looking at the evidence and trying to reach a conclusion as to what was hit.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, cautioned that - without full U.S. cooperation - the IAEA's probe might be hampered because commercial satellite imagery “may not be of sufficient quality to figure out difficult questions.” Still, he welcomed IAEA involvement, saying it gave the chance for a neutral organization to “provide an assessment and give the international community some guidance about what has or has not happened.”
Syria denies that it has an undeclared nuclear program and North Korea has said it was not involved in any nuclear program in the Mideast nation. Damascus has said the Israelis targeted an empty building, and the agency has said it has no evidence to the contrary.
The diplomats said that Vienna-based Syrian diplomats have met with senior IAEA representatives since the bombing, but have provided no substantive information that would indicate their country had nuclear secrets.
Syria has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has allowed agency experts to inspect its only known nuclear facility - a small, 27-kilowatt reactor, according to diplomats linked to the IAEA.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 39 CommentsWhere did you learn this? It sounds like a twisted version of pre-Renaissance history.
Posted by on_alert247 at 12:08 AM : Oct 20, 2007
agree with you and this is true for all religions that supress Science as a neutral knowledge. Middle-Eastern people have been more advanced technologically, relative to Europe and Western Societies because their governnors have been providing the conditions for the brains to lay their discoveries... And in a sense this has been the cause of superiority of Muslim culture, because it was benefiting from the scientific advances they were discovered at time of quiet and prosperity.
Some strange logic you got there or purposeful misdirection. What''''s gonna happen when he is no longer in office?
Posted by on_alert247 at 11:57 PM : Oct 19, 2007
-He will retire on his Columbia ranch and get invited by his filthy rich cronies on the French Riviera... And another idiot liar will take over and accuse the Arabs of all World Havocs. Unless America votes in some decent president who will redirect the Middle_East policies toward a fairer equilibrium between all nations and religions. Obama. Wink! Wink!
Think you missed the point entirely. What did the Roman Catholic church have to do with culture and technological innovation? If your answer is nothing but squelching it, then you obviously don''t know anything about history and philosophy. If you know the history, then there is the tie between religion, culture and technology. Technology cannot advance in a culture that suppresses it based on religious reasons. Obviously you haven''t read any of the books on the rise of Sufism.
Posted by on_alert247 at 11:44 PM : Oct 19, 2007
-May you agree on technology has no culture? be it western or Eastern. Technology is technology. Neural science is neutral, real and true to every culture and belief. So please don''t make extra effort in order to look stupid!
Don''t forget that that Arabs have been at the origine of a lot of inventions and discoveries aside form the huge social sciences, mostly captured throughout their commercial caravaning up to China, India, Persia, and Northern Africa. To some extent their carvan routes were secured by the conversion they were successful to impose with their logics about life views and then avant-gardist sociologic views of life.
Some strange logic you got there or purposeful misdirection. What''s gonna happen when he is no longer in office?
Posted by on_alert247 at 11:44 PM : Oct 19, 2007
-sounds pretty much like the Walking-Liar''s declaration: '' be with us or against us (or die)! So what''s new on Earth?
Alert! Alert! Another delusional ''Elders of Zion'' fruitcake. Let''s get a few things straight about middle-eastern culture: The ancient Egyptians weren''t Muslim at the height of their civilization, nor were the Meccans or the Persians or the Babylonians. All of these civilizations were at war with Muhammed''s armies and many were converted to Islam under threat of death. It shouldn''t be surprising that those middle-eastern countries who are trying to advance technologically are doing so by following western cultural practices to the chagrin of the Islamic fundamentalists. This is the exact reason militancy has been on the rise in many of these countries; according to many renowned Islamic scholars.
Posted by zootallures2 at 11:08 PM : Oct 19, 2007
-Zoot2, you just can''t continue sticking this to Israelis'' assses. Ok that is fine for some time, but Arabs and Israel got to sit down and discuss a fair peace deal. Time to do so! they jsut can''t continue argueing for this and that. All of them are tired of this unstable situation and need to move on. The attitude of superiority by IDF is a myth now, and needs to be revisited... But it''s also the best timing for everybody''s pride by keeping lowprofile and try to hammer a deal. Dynamics are great nowaday and need to be streamed into a positive peace settlement. Most of conditions are there for this to happen. But as long as Israel keeps this attitude of aggressive and deceptive accusations toward the neighbors, conditions will not be there. Israel needs to understand that Iran''s meances of wiping off Time''s book is a position of negotiation. Nobody can annihilate another nation, and Iran is wise enough not to cross over the red line of security.
-Israeli products have already made it through to the Arab markets under sub-contracting deals and name borrowing etc... All it needs now is a decent and genuine peace deal for development to take place.
Posted by grazinggoat at 10:55 PM : Oct 19, 2007
Iraq was the cradle of civilzation at one time when Europe was still leaving in caves, Egypt built some of the wonders of the world in their hayday, and the Persian Empire controled most of the known world at one time. The Middle East was great and had more advanced tech then anyone else; they need to recapture that greatness.
Thanks, that answers the question.
The US government, led by President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, added another USD 20 million on 28 December to their original pledge of USD 15 million, bringing the total up to USD 35 million, not including direct aid to be rendered by naval vessels dispatched to the region.[7] On December 31 the US pledge was increased tenfold to USD 350 million,[8] with President Bush saying that that amount will probably increase. President Bush also signed a decree ordering flags to be flown at half-mast during the first week of the new year.''
I guess thats not enough help.
"from Katrina they have seen we cannot even help our own."
State and City governments failed New Orleans, and Katrina was the biggest natural crisis to happen to the US, you can''t fix that over night.
"So why call, we are ineffectual."
That right, we can''t do anything, so leave us alone.
Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:07 PM : Oct 19, 2007
- Don''t really know, but Arabs have always asked for tecl and industries, bu they were deprived from it by the conglomerates of Zionist pressure groups in Europe and America, helped by their brainwashing campaigns painting the Arabs as savage uneducated traditionalists (refer you to the Abbot and Costello TV shows, Lawrence of Arabia, ''the return of the Mummy/ the lost arch'', and Never without my daughter''. Arabs do lack the tecchy tradition and greatly need it. But they are catching up. A perfect example of pressure is the Iranian will to share its peaceful nuclear technology with neigboring countries. Of course, Israel will not want that, because Iran may be a formidable competitor to its technology and at decent price. Israel is beating all drumms in order to prevent Iran from acquiring this technology by accusing it of planification for nuclear weapons acquiring. The West needs to keep those Arab populations rich but ignorant and void of futuristic technologies, in order to keep depending on our economy.
That is what frightens the Arabs (Moslem World) about the presence of Israel in the Middle-East.
Maybe all you said is true, but that doesn''''t answer the question.
Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:41 PM : Oct 19, 2007
They did. But every time they build an industry, some strange fellas show up and start firing rockets from the parking lot and the bulldozers come and knock it down. And then Jimmy Carter comes over and talks to Abbas like he''s his little boy... "I''m so proud of you." Many strange things going on....???????????
Maybe all you said is true, but that doesn''t answer the question.
Posted by AJMarine1 at 10:07 PM : Oct 19, 2007
Israel is just another US Ashkenazi tax converter. Like welfare. The welfare comes from taxes and when they buy things it goes to corporations. Like IDF war planes for example. The USS Liberty was black mail to buy F4''s and keep buying. Kissenger didn''t like it when Israel started making copies of Mirages. It was out there giving away their positions to turn the Eqyptians around. So they lost either way. Isreal is run by Jews, just not the ones in Israel.
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