Five days ago, IRIS was out front* in speculating that there may have been a connection between the air strike on Syria and the mention of nuclear activity in Syria in the New York Times.
Here is a story in the Times Online speculating on the same hypothesis, but irresponsibly exaggerating the factual basis for the theory:
Israelis 'Blew Apart Syrian Nuclear Cache'
IT was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria’s formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way.
At a rendezvous point on the ground, a Shaldag air force commando team was waiting to direct their laser beams at the target for the approaching jets. The team had arrived a day earlier, taking up position near a large underground depot. Soon the bunkers were in flames.
Ten days after the jets reached home, their mission was the focus of intense speculation this weekend amid claims that Israel believed it had destroyed a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea.
The Israeli government was not saying. “The security sources and IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] soldiers are demonstrating unusual courage,” said Ehud Olmert, the prime minister. “We naturally cannot always show the public our cards.”
Pajamas Media has more details.
One massive caveat is useful to keep in mind, however, in the form of the Olmert government's massive American ace in the hole. The Olmert government, like previous Leftist regimes, has made a deal with foreign powers to sell Israel's security interests in exchange for help staying in power. This explains:
-Olmert's ridiculously implausible raid on the Jericho 'jail' on the eve of the election. The official version was that the IDF coincidentally managed to attack the facility just minutes after the American and British 'jailors' independently decided to flee. The military success boosted Olmert's popularity just prior to the vote.
-Clinton's open campaigning and support in a variety of ways for Ehud Barak.
-Teddy Kollek's pre-State collaboration with the British in turning over Zionist fighters from the Right, as part of a general Mapai deal with the British enemy.
*To be fair,
Little Green Footballs made the same observation around the time I did.
