Search Is Urged for Syrian Nuclear Sites

From The Washington Post Thursday, May 29, 2008, by Joby Warrick and Robin Wright:

The Bush administration is pressing U.N. inspectors to broaden their search for possible secret nuclear facilities in Syria, hinting that Damascus's nuclear program might be bigger than the single alleged reactor destroyed by Israeli warplanes last year.

At least three sites have been identified by U.S. officials and passed along to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is negotiating with Syria for permission to conduct inspections in the country, according to U.S. government officials and Western diplomats. U.S. officials want to know if the suspect sites may have been support facilities for the alleged Al Kibar reactor destroyed in an Israeli air raid Sept. 6....

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, which has been seeking access to the Al Kibar site since shortly after the bombing, has acknowledged receiving requests to expand the scope of its inspections, but provided no details.

...Syria, which has denied having a nuclear weapons program, has not yet responded to IAEA requests for a firm date for inspections.

...CIA Director Michael V. Hayden ... predicted that Syria would "almost certainly attempt to delay and deceive" the IAEA. But he added: "We know what they did." ...