Syriana

The Israeli attack on Syria, which reputedly offed a bunch of North Koreans as well as Syrians, has been mainly flying beneath my radar. As Kevin Drum noted Friday:

The whole thing is still murky, since everyone seems to agree that it doesn't really make sense, but it's now pretty hard to ignore. Either someone is dead serious about planting some disinformation about a Syria-North Korea nuclear connection in the press, or else there really is such a connection. I don't know what to think about it myself, but it's now officially a story to follow.

Today sees a new entry in the puzzle from The Sunday Times. Now I try never to venture in to Murdoch territory without some protection, so, having armed myself with a crucifix and some garlic, I ventured into the story.

Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.

The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.

They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean.

Real or more neo-con Mystifix? I don't suppose we shall know until long after the attack on Iran. That plan is apparently called "Checkmate."

Commenter Simon Hughs notes that:

An attack on Iran will be disasterous for America and the West. It will open a Pandora's box of incredible proportions.
Iran is far from stupid. They are prepared to respond in unorthodox but extremely effective ways,
Remember, they invented Chess.

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