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Operation Outside the Box

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Operation Orchard
File:Operation Orchard-Syria.jpg
Photographs of the Syrian site after the strike are said to show the absence of most debris and the bulldozing of part of an adjacent hill to cover the remaining foundation.
DateSeptember 6, 2007
Location
Deir ez-Zor region, Syria
35°42′28″N 39°50′01″E / 35.70778°N 39.83361°E / 35.70778; 39.83361
Result unknown
Belligerents

Israeli Air Force

Syria
Strength
F-15I fighters
F-16 fighters
1 ELINT aircraft
Total: As many as 8 aircraft		 Unknown numbers of radar and Anti-aircraft artillery of the Syrian Air Defence Forces
Casualties and losses
None Reported. Possible destruction of the site.

Operation Orchard[1][2] was an Israeli airstrike on a target in the Deir ez-Zor region[3] of Syria carried out just after midnight on September 6, 2007. The White House and CIA would later declare that American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this.[4] According to news reports, the raid was carried out by the Israeli Air Force's 69th Squadron of F-15Is,[5] F-16s, and an ELINT aircraft; a total of as many as eight aircraft and at least four to cross Syrian airspace.[6] The fighters were equipped with AGM-65 Maverick missiles, 500lb bombs, and external fuel tanks.[1][7] One report indicated that a team of IAF Shaldag commandos arrived at the site the day before so that they could highlight the target with laser beams.[8]

Pre-strike activity

ABC News reported that Mossad "managed to either co-opt one of the facility's workers or to insert a spy posing as an employee" at the suspected Syrian nuclear site, and through this was able to get pictures of the target from on the ground."[9]

According to The Sunday Times, members of Israel's Sayeret Matkal covertly raided the suspected Syrian nuclear facility before the September 6 airstrike and brought nuclear material back to Israel. Once the material was tested and confirmed to have come from North Korea, the US gave Israel approval for an attack.[10] However, another report indicated that Israel planned to attack the site as early as July 14, but some US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, preferred a public condemnation of Syria, thereby delaying the military strike until Israel feared the information would leak to the press.[11] The Times also reports that the mission was "personally directed" by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

File:Al-Hamed-1-July-2006.jpg
Al Hamed, anchored in Istanbul (from www.ShipFoto.co.uk)

A North Korean ship had docked in Syria just a few days earlier,[12] and after the strike North Korea publicly condemned the raid; North Korea rarely comments on international events.[13] The ship was later identified as the Al Hamed, a 1,700-tonne cargo ship that was previously owned by a North Korean business. The ship registered itself as South Korean when it travelled through the Suez canal and docked at the Syrian port Tartous on July 28. It returned on September 3, when it was said to have unloaded cement. Records do not indicate where the vessel is as of September 17.[14]

Radar detection

Israeli F-15I from the 69th Squadron

According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, US industry and military sources speculated that the Israelis may have used technology similar to the U.S.'s Suter airborne network attack system to allow their planes to pass undetected by radar into Syria. This would make it possible to feed enemy radar emitters with false targets, and even directly manipulate enemy sensors. Syria is reported to have the new state-of-the art Pantsyr-S1E Russian radar systems. However, the system had not been functional at that time. The Syrian air defense that was operational at that time was suspected to be the Tor-M1 and outdated Pechora-2A(S-125, SA-3).[15] [16]

Aviation Week and Space Technology later reported that Israeli aircraft actually engaged a Syrian radar site in Tall al-Abuad, both with conventional precision bombs, electronic attack, and brute force jamming. They added that prior to the raid the US gave Israel information on Syrian air defenses.[17]

Target

suspected Syrian nuclear reactor, after it was destroyed by Israeli air strike

CNN first reported that the airstrike targeted weapons "destined for Hezbollah militants" and that the strike "left a big hole in the desert".[18] On September 13 The Washington Post reported that U.S. and Israeli intelligence gathered information on a nuclear facility constructed in Syria with North Korean aid, and that the target was a "facility capable of making unconventional weapons".[19] According to The Sunday Times, the target was a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea.[8]

This reporting was challenged on September 24 by The Raw Story, which said that US intelligence officials told them that the actual target were North Korean No-Dong missiles. According to the report, the missiles were an "older generation" that Syria was attempting to "chemically weaponize".[20]

Syrian Vice-President Faruq Al Shara announced on September 30 that the Israeli target was The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid zones and Dry Lands, but the center itself immediately denied this.[21] The following day Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the bombing target as an "incomplete and empty military complex that was still under construction". He did not provide any further details about the nature of the structure or its purpose.[22]

On September 28 the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jareeda reported that Iranian general Ali Reza Asgari, who disappeared in February, was the source for the airstrike.[23]

On 14 October The New York Times cited US and Israeli military intelligence sources saying that the target had been a nuclear reactor under construction by North Korean technicians, with a number of the technicians having been killed in the strike.[24]

On December 2 The Sunday Times quoted Uzi Even, a professor at Tel Aviv University and a founder of the Negev Nuclear Research Center, saying that he believes that the Syrian site was built to process plutonium and assemble a nuclear bomb, using weapons-grade plutonium originally from North Korea. He also said that Syria's quick burial of the target site with tons of soil was a reaction to fears of radiation.[25]

Reaction

Syria first responded by saying that its anti-aircraft weapons had fired at Israeli planes, which bombed empty areas in the desert,[26] or later, unused military buildings.[27] On September 7-8 Turkish media reported finding Israeli fuel tanks in Hatay and Gaziantep Province, and the Turkish Foreign Minister lodged a formal protest with the Israeli envoy.[26][28] Israel did not comment on the incident, although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did say that "The security services and Israeli defence forces are demonstrating unusual courage. We naturally cannot always show the public our cards."[29] Israeli papers were banned from doing their own reporting on the airstrike.[30] On September 16 the head of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, told a parliamentary committee that Israel regained its "deterrent capability."[31] US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked if North Korea was helping Syria in the nuclear realm, but replied only that "we are watching the North Koreans very carefully. We watch the Syrians very carefully."[32] The first public acknowledgment by an Israeli official came on September 19 when opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had backed the operation and congratulated Prime Minister Olmert.[33] Netanyahu advisor Uzi Arad later told Newsweek "I do know what happened, and when it comes out it will stun everyone."[34]

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced the intrusion into Syrian airspace on September 11, 2007 and expressed support for Syria.[35]

On September 17 Prime Minister Olmert announced that he was ready to make peace with Syria "without preset conditions and without ultimatums".[36] According to a poll done by the Dahaf Research Institute, Olmert's approval rating rose from 25% to 35% after the airstrike.[37]

On October 2, 2007 the IDF confirmed the attack took place, following a request by Haaretz to lift censorship; however, the IDF continued to censor details of the actual strike force and its target.[38]

An Israeli journalist publishing in Haaretz opined "we can safely say that behind the successful blackout campaign lies an enormous failure" namely the failure to provoke Assad into a military response: "whoever expected him to respond to the operation in a military operation was wrong. "[39] However, the overwhelming majority of publications, in Haaretz and in other Israeli media, maintained the exact opposite.

On October 17, in reaction to the UN press office's release of a First Committee, Disarmament and International Security meeting's minutes which paraphrased an unnamed Syrian representative as saying that a nuclear facility was hit by the raid, Syria denied the statement, adding that "such facilities do not exist in Syria." However state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said that media reports had misquoted the Syrian diplomat.[40]

On October 28, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet that he had apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if Israel violated Turkish airspace. In a statement released to the press after the meeting he said: "In my conversation with the Turkish prime minister, I told him that if Israeli planes indeed penetrated Turkish airspace, then there was no intention thereby, either in advance or in any case, to - in any way - violate or undermine Turkish sovereignty, which we respect."[40]

On the same day, the IAEA's Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the raid, saying that to bomb first and ask questions later "undermines the system and it doesn't lead to any solution to any suspicion."[41]

The New York Times on October 26 published satellite photographs showing that the Syrians had almost entirely removed all remains of the facility. US intelligence sources noted that such an operation would usually take a year's time, and expressed astonishment at the speed with which it was carried out. Former weapons inspector David Albright believed that the work was meant to hide evidence of wrongdoing.[42][43]

Aftermath

On October 10, 2007 The New York Times reported that the Israelis had shared the Syrian strike dossier with Turkey. In turn the Turks traveled to Damascus and confronted the Syrians with the dossier alleging a nuclear program. The Syrian denied this with vigor saying that the target was a storage depot for strategic missiles.[44]

On October 25, 2007 The New York Times reported that two commercial satellite photos taken before and after the raid showed that a square building no longer exists at the suspected site.[45]

On October 27, 2007 The New York Times reported that the imaging company Geoeye released an image of the building from September 16, 2003, and from this security analyst John Pike estimated that construction began in 2001." A senior intelligence official" also told the Times that the US has observed the site for years by spy satellite.[46] Subsequent searches of satellite imagery discovered that an astronaut aboard the International Space Station had taken a picture of the area on September 5, 2002. The image, though of low resolution, is good enough to show that the building existed as of that date.

The IAEA is attempting to investigate the nuclear allegations against Syria, but as of mid-November 2007 had not received the cooperation of either Israel or the United States. The IAEA has seen commercial satellite images of the suspected target, but could not confirm whether or not it was a nuclear facility; in fact, some IAEA experts believe it is "no more than a workshop for the pumice mining industry along the banks of the Euphrates".[47]

On January 11, 2008, DigitalGlobe released a satellite photo showing that a building similar to the suspected target of the attack had been rebuilt in the same location.[48] However, an outside expert said that it was unlikeley to be a reactor and could be cover for excavation of the old site.[49]

On April 1, 2008 Asahi Shimbun reported that Ehud Olmert told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during a meeting on February 27 that the target of the strike was "nuclear-related facility that was under construction with know-how and assistance from North Korean technicians dispatched by Pyongyang."[50]

In early April a report in Haaretz indicated that Israel and the United States were coordinating on which details of the attack to release during U.S. Congressional hearing.[51] In anticipation of the hearings, an official said that "The sense is that the Syrians, with the help of the North Koreans, were attempting to build an undeclared facility that could indeed produce plutonium."[52] [53] The Washington Post reported that a video taken inside the site showed that the design of the Syrian reactor core was identical to the North Korean reactor at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. This video was shown to the Bush administration before Israel launched its strike.[54] According to a U.S. official, there did not appear to be any uranium at the reactor, and although it was almost completed, it could not have been declared operational without significant testing.[55]

A statement from the White House Press Secretary on April 24, 2008 followed the briefing given to some Congressional committees that week. According to the statement, the administration believed that Syria had been building a covert reactor with North Korean assistance which was capable of producing plutonium, and that the purpose was non-peaceful. It was also stated that the IAEA was being briefed with the intelligence.[56]

References

  1. ^ a b Beaumont, Peter (2007-09-16). "Was Israeli raid a dry run for attack on Iran?". The Observer. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  2. ^ Stephens, Bret (2007-09-18). "Osirak II?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  3. ^ "Officials say Israel raid on Syria triggered by arms fears". Reuters. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  4. ^ NKorea-Syria nuclear work had military aims: White House, Associated French Press, April 24, 2008.
  5. ^ Mahnaimi, Uzi (2007-09-16). "Israelis 'blew apart Syrian nuclear cache'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  6. ^ Hersh, Seymour (2008-02-11). "A Strike in the Dark". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  7. ^ "Turkish FM slams Israel over fuel tanks". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  8. ^ a b Mahnaimi, Uzi (2007-09-16). "Israelis 'blew apart Syrian nuclear cache'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  9. ^ Raddatz, Martha (2007-10-19). "EXCLUSIVE: The Case for Israel's Strike on Syria". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  10. ^ Mahnaimi, Uzi (2007-09-23). "Snatched: Israeli commandos 'nuclear' raid". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  11. ^ "Report: US stalled IAF raid in Syria fearing ME destabilization". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  12. ^ Melman, Yossi (2007-09-17). "Records on N. Korean ship docked in Syria were altered". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  13. ^ Kessler, Glenn (2007-09-15). "Syria-N. Korea Reports Won't Stop Talks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  14. ^ Butcher, Tim (2007-09-17). "N Korean ship 'linked to Israel's strike on Syria'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  15. ^ Fulghum, David A. (2007-10-03). "Why Syria's Air Defenses Failed to Detect Israelis". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  16. ^ Fulghum, David A. (2007-10-08). "Israel used electronic attack in air strike against Syrian mystery target". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  17. ^ Fulghum, David A. (2007-11-21). ".S. Electronic Surveillance Monitored Israeli Attack On Syria". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  18. ^ "Syria complains to U.N. about Israeli airstrike". CNN. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  19. ^ Kessler, Glenn (2007-09-13). "N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  20. ^ Alexandrovna, Larisa (2007-09-24). "Israeli air strike did not hit nuclear facility, intelligence officials say". The Raw Story. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  21. ^ "Arab League center denies it was Israeli raid target". Middle East Times. 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  22. ^ "Assad sets conference conditions". BBC. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  23. ^ "Report: Defecting Iranian official gave info before alleged Syrian foray". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  24. ^ Sanger, David (2007-10-14). "Israel Struck Syrian Nuclear Project, Analysts Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  25. ^ Mahnaimi, Uzi (2007-12-02). "Israelis hit Syrian 'nuclear bomb plant'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  26. ^ a b "Turkey Asks Israel About Fuel Tanks". AP. 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2007-09-09. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Missing pipe in: |first= (help)
  27. ^ "Israel admits air strike on Syria". BBC.
  28. ^ "Turkey complains to Israel over fuel tanks found near border with Syria: reports". AP. 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2007-09-09. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Missing pipe in: |first= (help)
  29. ^ Urquhart, Conal (2007-09-17). "Speculation flourishes over Israel's strike on Syria". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  30. ^ Harel, Amos (2007-09-16). "ANALYSIS: Mummed media base IAF strike reports on world press". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  31. ^ "Israel says deterrent ability recovered after Syria strike". AFP. 2007-09-16. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  32. ^ "Speculation heats up over what Israel hit in Syria". AFP. 2007-09-16. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  33. ^ "Netanyahu says Israel carried out Syria air raid, he backed it". AFP. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  34. ^ Ephron, Dan (2007-10-01). "The Whispers of War". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  35. ^ "DPRK slams Israel for intruding Syria's air territory". World. China: Xinhua News Agency. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  36. ^ "Olmert says he is ready to make peace with Syria". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  37. ^ "Mysterious airstrike in northern Syria boosts Olmert's popularity: Poll". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  38. ^ Oren, Amir (2007-10-02). "IDF lifts censorship on air strike against Syria target". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  39. ^ The consistency of errorHaaretz 03/10/2007 The consistency of error By Amir Oren
  40. ^ a b "'USAF struck Syrian nuclear site'". The Jerusalem Post. November 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ "IAEA chief criticizes Israel over Syria raid". Reuters. 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  42. ^ "Alleged Syrian atomic reactor 'vanishes'". The Jerusalem Post. October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "Syria Update II: Syria Buries Foundation of Suspect Reactor Site" (PDF). Institute for Science and International Security. October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ "An Israeli Strike on Syria Kindles Debate in the U.S.", By Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper, Published: October 10, 2007.
  45. ^ Satellite Photos Show Cleansing of Suspect Syrian Site By William J. Broad Published: October 26, 2007 Accessed October 25,2007
  46. ^ Broad, William (2007-10-27). "Yet Another Photo of Site in Syria, Yet More Questions". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ Alexandrovna, Larisa (2007-11-14). "US, Israel refuse to cooperate with inquest into Syria strike". The Raw Story.
  48. ^ Broad, William (2008-01-12). "Syria Rebuilds on Site Destroyed by Israeli Bombs". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  49. ^ Mikkelsen, Randall (2008-01-15). "Syria rebuilding at site bombed by Israel - report". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  50. ^ "Report: Olmert admitted Israel struck Syrian nuclear facility". Ynetnews. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  51. ^ Ravid, Barak (2008-04-06). "Israel, U.S. plan to release details on Syria attack". Haaretz. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  52. ^ "U.S. thinks North Korea aided Syria on plutonium program". Reuters. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  53. ^ "N Korea 'linked to Syria reactor'". BBC. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-24. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  54. ^ Wright, Robin (2008-04-24). "N. Koreans Taped At Syrian Reactor". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  55. ^ Hess, Pamela (2008-04-24). "US shows evidence of alleged Syria-N. Korea nuke collaboration". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  56. ^ "Statement by the Press Secretary" (Press release). White House. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-24.

See also

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