Syria: U.N. Atomic Watchdog Director Says Bombed Syrian Site Was Reactor

[oberliner]

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that a target destroyed by Israeli warplanes in the Syrian desert in 2007 was a covertly built nuclear reactor, countering assertions by Syria. The United States has said the target was a reactor, and previous reports by the nuclear watchdog had suggested that it could have been. At a news conference in Paris on Friday, the agency’s director, Yukiya Amano, said the facility was “a nuclear reactor under construction.” The agency later issued a statement saying it had not concluded “that the site was definitely a nuclear reactor,” suggesting Mr. Amano’s comments did not reflect official policy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/world/middleeast/29briefs-Syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[bemildred]

1. Well, that clarifies it.

"At a news conference in Paris on Friday, the agency’s director, Yukiya Amano, said the facility was “a nuclear reactor under construction.” The agency later issued a statement saying it had not concluded “that the site was definitely a nuclear reactor,” suggesting Mr. Amano’s comments did not reflect official policy."

[oberliner]

2. Quickest backtrack in history

Well maybe not the quickest, but pretty darn quick.

[bemildred]

3. It's a very competitive field, and US politicians are the masters. nt