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Syria has started to rebuild the site of an alleged nuclear facility bombed by the Israel Air Force on September 6, 2007, according to a report released Friday by The New York Times. A satellite photograph of the site shows new construction in place that resembles the former building, which according to foreign media reports was a nuclear facility in northeastern Syria built with North Korean assistance. Syria and North Korea, however, have both vehemently denied any nuclear cooperation. The New York Times reported that the new satellite photograph shows a tall, square building under construction that appears to bear close resemblance to the original structure, with the exception that the new roof is vaulted instead of flat. The report also quoted David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that has analyzed the Syrian site, who maintained that due to the international uproar following the September bombing, it can be assumed that the new building is not a reactor. "The new building," he is quoted as saying, "covers whatever remained of the destroyed one." On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Mohamed ElBaradei told the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat he had no information on any Syrian nuclear plans, but said he hoped to pay a visit soon to the Syrian site bombed by the IAF. ElBaradei said the IAF strike "set a bad precedent." Israeli officials have been largely silent about the affair. The IDF only recently relaxed censorship to allow Israel-based journalists to report that Israel Air Force aircraft attacked a military target deep inside Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad has since maintained that Israel bombed an "unused military building" in the September raid.As in the days of Noah....
