US: “North Koreans Are In Syria, A Lot Of North Koreans Are In Iraq And Iran”
ROME (AP) - A senior U.S. nuclear official said Friday that North Koreans are in Syria and that the government in Damascus may have had contacts with “secret suppliers” to obtain nuclear equipment.
Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, did not name the suppliers, but said there were North Koreans in Syria and that he could not exclude that the network run by the disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan may have been involved.
Semmel was responding to questions about an Israeli airstrike in northern Syria last week. Neither side has explained what exactly happened, but a U.S. government official confirmed that Israeli warplanes were targeting weapons from Iran and destined for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Israel had gathered satellite imagery showing possible North Korean cooperation with Syria on a nuclear facility.
Semmel, who is in Italy for a meeting Saturday on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, said Syria was certainly on the U.S. “watch list.”
“There are indicators that they do have something going on there,” he said. “We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen.”
“So good foreign policy, good national security policy, would suggest that we pay very close attention to that,” he said. “We’re watching very closely. Obviously, the Israelis were watching very closely.”
Asked if the suppliers could have been North Koreans, he said: “There are North Korean people there. There’s no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran.”
Asked if the so-called Khan network, which supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, could have been involved, he said he “wouldn’t exclude” it.
Now, tie this in with the meetings in Damascus recently between Ahmabigdickwad and Asshat Assad, in which Iran promised Syria $1 billion in military aid spending AND an offer to “help” with their nuclear program IF they do not enter into peace negotiations with Israel and YOU TELL ME wtf is going on here…
September 14th, 2007 at 9:35 amGreat pic, by the way, Pat. heh heh
September 14th, 2007 at 9:36 amLooks like he’s been eating too many fish eyes.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:08 amLuv the picture… The axis of evil lives and breathes.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:08 amSounds like there is gonna be a big fire storm in the desert
September 14th, 2007 at 10:10 amThis is pretty f*kin scary
But gee whiz, I thought that was all neocon propaganda!
September 14th, 2007 at 10:28 amMeanwhile, the Democrats are still working on their new Iraq surrender plan to con enough Republican votes to pull it off.
BTW, what were the helpful suggestions for Petraeus about things Democrats could do to help the war effort. Scary how they think isn’t it. Shows what hate does to your brain.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:37 amHatches down!
September 14th, 2007 at 10:39 amThat pic is hilarious, though it makes you wonder where the guy is who took it. Seems like DPRK is transtitioning from nuclear development to ‘nuclear consultants’ in the face of agreements to shutter down their nuclear facilities.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:49 amI wonder if Dirty Harry Reid had a chance to visit with the NOKOs while he was there? How much ya want to bet nobody in the MSM bothers to ask him?
September 14th, 2007 at 10:56 amWhy hasn’t Syria come after the Israeli’s after this most recent raid? The N Koreans bitched, the Iranians bitched and the Syrians bitched a fit…but, no action at all??
September 14th, 2007 at 11:05 amTeam America World Police must be a prophecy.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:12 amDennis Kucinich, call your office! His excellency may have slipped you a high hard one, you fucking moron.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:50 amLuv the pic. Send that pic of “The Dear Leader” to NK. Hang it on every telephone pole. The NK people could use a laugh.
Seriously, I wonder if this is the plan to build that dirty bomb that the Islamofacists are looking for?
It’s time for both the IDF and the US to clear out these Nuclear facilities, and if we get a few NK slimeballs in the process…Just send their body parts to the “Dear Leader”, with LUV from the United States…return receipt requested.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:53 pm