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Syria rebuilding at site bombed by Israel: report

By Randall MikkelsenMon Jan 14, 7:51 PM ET

Syria has raised a new building on a remote site bombed by Israel in September that some analysts suspect was a potential nuclear reactor, an independent security monitoring group reported on Monday.

The new building was visible in satellite images taken on Wednesday and does not appear to be a reactor, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security. It could be a warehouse or a shelter to hide excavation work at the bombed site, he said.

"We think that it's unlikely that it is (a reactor)," Albright said. "It's just very unlikely that if they were building a reactor secretly there, that they would turn around and start rebuilding it, and particularly this quickly."

The CIA declined to comment on the report. Israel has acknowledged carrying out the September 6 raid, but given no details on the target, which analysts speculated was a nascent Syria nuclear reactor. Syria denied having such a facility.

The new building was built after October 24, when satellite images showed the bombing ruins had been leveled, Albright said. "It's gone up quickly, so it can't be very elaborate," he said.

The photos also showed a line of trenches and sections of pipe running from the site to a possible water treatment facility. Earlier pictures had shown a pumping station at a nearby river and pipes running to the suspect site.

Any nuclear reactor would need a source of water for cooling and a way to exhaust it, Albright said. "There does seem to be some kind of a loop," in the photos, he said.

But he also said the building could merely be there to serve as a cover while Syria excavates structures from the old building. "We really don't know. Certainly that's a strategy that has been followed by others so that you could hide close-in work," he said.

Syria has denied U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency requests to visit the site.

Source: Reuters

French Offer Saudi Nuclear Energy Help

By LAURENT PIROT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — France's president offered Saudi Arabia help in exploring a possible civilian nuclear energy program as the French leader began a visit to the oil-rich kingdom on Sunday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy and King Abdullah also signed agreements on oil and gas and political cooperation at the start of the visit. Sarkozy also intended to press the leader of the world's top oil producer for lower prices of crude, which reached a record high of $100 a barrel this month, according to a French diplomat.

The Saudis want to buy more helicopters, ships, and submarines from the French as well as get help revamping border security systems. They also want to tap French expertise on railway construction as Saudi looks to build a TGV fast train link between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as a subway in the capital Riyadh.

Sarkozy offered the king the services of France's Atomic Energy Commission to explore the possibilities of a civil nuclear energy program in Saudi Arabia, the president's office said.

The trip is Sarkozy's third to the Middle East in three weeks and during a December visit to Egypt, Sarkozy also expressed France's willingness to assist Egypt in the nuclear field.

France was to sign a nuclear cooperation accord with the United Arab Emirates during Sarkozy's upcoming visit there Tuesday, the French leader told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in an interview published last week.

The accord for cooperation in civilian nuclear activities, a first step toward building a nuclear reactor, would be the third France has signed recently with Arab nations, after Libya and Algeria.

"I have often said that the Muslim world is no less reasonable than the rest of the world in seeking civilian nuclear (power) for its energy needs, in full conformity with international security obligations," Sarkozy told the London-based Al-Hayat.

Building nuclear reactors for civilian use for these countries would mean lucrative contracts for France, which generates most of its own electricity from nuclear power.

During his visit, Sarkozy planned to tell his hosts it was in the interest of both producers and consumers to lower the price of oil, a French diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Source: AP