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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Let's Not Carried Away Here!

Syria is letting the UN into Syria to investigate the suspected nuclear site that Israel bombed in September 2007.

But let's not kid ourselves, the inspection will not be about Syria's nuclear programs:

Syria has told fellow Arab countries that it will not permit an International Atomic Energy Agency probe to extend beyond a site bombed by Israel, despite agency interest in three other suspect locations, diplomats told The Associated Press on Tuesday.


Syria knows the routine. UN inspections aren't about finding nuclear programs! They're all about looking in areas the Syrians let you look at, with equipment that Syria lets you use, to ask questions the Syrians choose to answer, for an amount of time Syria let's you spend.

You see, for the newest member of the Axis of Evil, UN inspection are all about limiting the UN inspectors to a sufficient degree that their final report says that proof of nuclear facilities is at best "inconclusive." At that point, perhaps years later, Syria claims vindication and innocence. In the meantime their WMD programs forge ahead.

So under these circumstances, it would be madness for Syria to let UN inspectors roam freely. It took Syria over eight months to clean up the one nuclear site to the extent that Syria believes will fool whatever limited equipment the UN can bring to the site. How long do you think it would take Syria to hide or erase their programs in all of Syria? Be reasonable! A doctor/dictator can only do so much!

Heck, I don't assume that Assad will allow the inspectors to travel to the site (and confirm they are at the actual site rather than a nearby dummy site). We shall see what an "investigation" consists of.

Bashar Assad is evil. He is not stupid.