Remember the other day when we looked at a delightful “bomb, bomb Iran” piece from Dick Cheney’s former National Security Adviser, John P. Hannah? Well, we need to revisit that piece briefly. See, in the midst of a rant about the efficacy of military action in preventing states from developing WMD, which was mostly a set up for John to explain to us all how the Iraq War was Actually Good, he also threw in this bit about Syria:
Of course, we also have the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to thank for sparing us the nightmare of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad with nuclear bombs. As you contemplate the all-too real horrors of the Syrian conflict to date, just think for a moment about that particular danger averted. The 2007 strike on the Al-Kibar reactor — undertaken, it’s worth reminding, against U.S. advice — should, in retrospect, be viewed as one of history’s great counter-proliferation successes.
Yes, well, about that:
According to findings of Western intelligence agencies, however, the situation is much more explosive than previously assumed. Based on documents that SPIEGEL has in its possession, the agencies are convinced that Assad is continuing in his efforts to build the bomb.
Analysts say that the Syrian atomic weapon program has continued in a secret, underground location. According to information they have obtained, approximately 8,000 fuel rods are stored there. Furthermore, a new reactor or an enrichment facility has very likely been built at the site — a development of incalculable geopolitical consequences.
Now, it should be noted that this Spiegel report is beyond sketchy, based on some unexplained aspects of the suspected site’s design and some intercepted Hezbollah communications that talk about a nuclear site and North Korean and Iranian work there. That’s it, and it’s not enough to support such a startling accusation. But the fact that we’re ~7 years removed from the Al-Kibar strike and people are already worried that Syria has reconstituted a nuclear program doesn’t do a whole lot for Hannah’s argument that single military strikes can prevent WMD development rather than simply delaying it. It’s almost as if the advocates for military strikes care more about the strikes than about their results.
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 
Anybody who trusts Der Spiegel gets exactly what he deserves.
Just sayin’.
Yeah, it’s a terrible report. But even the fact that we’re back to fear-mongering over Assad’s “nuclear program” shows how fleeting the effects of the Kibar strike were. And really, that’s the point; neocons don’t care about proliferation except insofar as it helps them justify more military action.