White House statement on bombed Syrian reactor

Here is the text of a statement from the White House press office about the Syrian installation which Israeli aircraft destroyed last year. The White House states, "We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged beyond repair on Sept. 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful purposes."

The statement doesn't mention Israel.

The White House
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 24, 2008

Statement by the Press Secretary
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080424-14.html

Today, administration officials have briefed select Congressional
committees on an issue of great international concern. Until Sept. 6,
2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its
eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based
on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert
nuclear activities. We have good reason to believe that reactor, which
was damaged beyond repair on Sept. 6 of last year, was not intended for
peaceful purposes. Carefully hidden from view, the reactor was not
configured for such purposes. In defiance of its international
obligations, Syria did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) of the construction of the reactor, and, after it was destroyed,
the regime moved quickly to bury evidence of its existence. This
cover-up only served to reinforce our confidence that this reactor was
not intended for peaceful activities.

We are briefing the IAEA on this intelligence. The Syrian regime must
come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities.
The Syrian regime supports terrorism, takes action that destabilizes
Lebanon, allows the transit of some foreign fighters into Iraq, and
represses its own people. If Syria wants better relations with the
international community, it should put an end to these activities.

We have long been seriously concerned about North Korea's nuclear
weapons program and its proliferation activities. North Korea's
clandestine nuclear cooperation with Syria is a dangerous manifestation
of those activities. One way we have chosen to deal with this problem is
through the Six Party Framework. Through this process we are working
with our partners to achieve the verifiable denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula. The United States is also committed to ensuring that
North Korea does not further engage in proliferation activities. We will
work with our partners to establish in the Six Party Framework a
rigorous verification mechanism to ensure that such conduct and other
nuclear activities have ceased.

The construction of this reactor was a dangerous and potentially
destabilizing development for the region and the world. This is
particularly true because it was done covertly and in violation of the
very procedures designed to reassure the world of the peaceful intent of
nuclear activities. This development also serves as a reminder that
often the same regimes that sponsor proliferation also sponsor terrorism
and foster instability, and cooperate with one another in doing so. This
underscores that the international community is right to be very
concerned about the nuclear activities of Iran and the risks those
activities pose to the stability of the Middle East. To confront this
challenge, the international community must take further steps,
beginning with the full implementation of the United Nations Security
Council resolutions dealing with Iranian nuclear activities. The United
States calls upon the international community to redouble our common
efforts to ending these activities and preventing the spread of weapons
of mass destruction in this critical region.

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