ISRAEL CONFIRMS: Israeli Air Force Wiped Out Syrian Nuclear Reactor In 2007 [VIDEOS & PHOTOS]

(VIDEOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Israel has finally decided to tell the world about a 2007 airstrike that destroyed the Syrian nuclear reactor, lifting the veil of secrecy over one of its most daring and mysterious operations in recent memory. On the night between September 5 and 6, 2007, the Israel Air Force targeted and destroyed the Syrian nuclear reactor in what was called “Operation Out of the Box”. The reactor was designed to produce plutonium material for the construction of nuclear bombs.

Eight F16s and F15s took part in the mission, leaving the southern Israeli bases at about 11:00PM, heading to their target under the protection of sophisticated radar jamming systems that prevented the Syrians from realizing what was about to take place. Their target was the square building in northeastern Syria. They flew north along the Mediterranean Sea and then turned east on the borderline between Syria and Turkey.

The nuclear facility was disguised as a farm. Once the pilots received the code name “Arizona”, it was hit with 24 tons of explosives. It did not take more than three minutes to bring the structure to the ground, reducing it to a pile of rubble. By 2:00AM Israel time, all the planes had returned to base. There were no celebrations however as Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack.

It was not immediately clear why Israel decided to go public now, and the IDF would not comment on its reasoning. The move could be related to the upcoming memoir of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who ordered the strike and has hinted about it for years. It could also be meant as a warning to Iran, which is deeply involved in Syria’s conflict and has long been pursuing it’s own nuclear program.

The Mossad received its first information in 2006, citing the nuclear facilty was under construction Deir ez-Zor, with Damascus receiving assistance from North Korea. Mossad Director Meir Dagan presented the information to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who had to juggle the disagreement which existed among the politicians, while receiving the intelligence reports and trying to bring US President George W. Bush on board. The US president was skeptical after no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq following the killing of Sadaam Hussein. Nevertheless, the Mossad was pushing the operation and with the prime minister and others, President Bush did give the green light for the mission. When Bush discussed the mission with his folks in the CIA, asking if the building was certainly a nuclear reactor, he was told the Israeli intelligence was accurate and if the building was not a reactor, it was built to look like one.

The mission was approved by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and overseen by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi.

While the mission was classified in Israel, this was not so with the foreign media, and in April 2008, US intelligence officials had briefed Congress on their part in the attack, which was carried out by Israel. President George W. Bush addresses the attack in books and interviews. The reports in Israel quoted “foreign reports”, which provided some details while side-stepping the blackout by the censor on reporting the mission.

The declassified report confirms that it was Israel, over a decade ago, that removed the nuclear threat from the region, permitting Jerusalem, Washington and many others to breathe a sigh of relief. The Syrians were a few short weeks away from beginning to produce plutonium for bombs. From Israel’s perspective, the strike was an astounding success since it not only destroyed the site, but prevented further escalation and strengthened its deterrence in the region.

The Syrian facility was almost identical to the nuclear facility in North Korea, which produced plutonium for nuclear bombs.

Israeli leaders and intelligence were banking on the fact that since President Hafez al-Assad built the facility without permission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he really could not file reports and complaints against Israel for the attack. B’chasdei Hashem this proved to be true and the Syrians remained quite on the matter until this very day.

Looking back and viewing the ongoing civil war in Syria, one can only wonder what would happen today if the Syrian government had nuclear capabilities chas v’sholom, or alternatively, if the nuclear facility fell into the hands of the rebel forces.

“The motivation of our enemies has grown in recent years, but so too the might of the Israeli military,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday. “Everyone in the Middle East would do well to internalize this equation.”

“The message from the 2007 attack on the reactor is that Israel will not tolerate construction that can pose an existential threat,” military chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said in Wednesday’s statement. “This was the message in 1981, this is the message in 2007 and this is the future message to our enemies.”