A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Syria next week to assess recent American claims that the installation attacked by Israeli warplanes last year was indeed a nuclear reactor in the final stages of construction. Two months ago, Michael Hayden, the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and other senior American intelligence analysts broke months of official silence about the September 2007 Israeli air strikes against a target located near the Syrian town of Al Kibar. Their intensive briefings for members of Congress, congressional staff, and, on background, the media, confirmed earlier suspicions that the target of the attack had been a Syrian nuclear reactor under construction with North Korean assistance. However, the briefings left unanswered certain important questions, including why the Bush administration chose to end its long silence on the issue when it did. Until the April 24 briefings, the U.S. government had declined to comment formally on the Sept. 6, 2007, events. The intelligence community had limited its briefings to some two dozen senior members of Congress, such as the heads of the Senate and House intelligence committees. Subsequently, these individuals were not permitted to share this information with the larger American (or international) public.
IAEA Will Investigate Syrian Nuclear Mysteries
