Syria is believed to have buried underneath concrete slabs all traces of the suspected nuclear reactor that was bombed by Israel last September, UN investigaters said Sunday, after western diplomats were quoted in the media claiming that the partial results of samples taken from the site failed to produce evidence supporting US and Israeli claims that it was indeed a nuclear reactor.
US nuclear analysts noted that shortly after the strike satellite images showed that the area had been bulldozed and debris removed and a new building erected.
Damascus has denied hiding nuclear activity and has claimed all along that the site bombed was in fact a military instillation. The Syrian government permitted inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the site this June in order to take samples.
Reuters reported on Monday that partial results of environmental swipe samples showed no trace of carbon or maraging steel that would have indictaed a graphite reactor. At the same time the report noted that only in November will final test results taken from the site be available.
US intelligence reports noted that the alleged reactor had apparantly not begun to process material prior to the Israeli air strike and therefore there is no radioactive material to detect.
However in April this year, seven months after the reactor was bombed, the White House declared North Korea helped Syria's secret nuclear program, and the destroyed facility was not intended for "peaceful purposes” A statement issued by the White House called on the "Syrian regime to come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities.'' 09/22/08
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