A Nuke on Syria? Oh, You have Got to be Kidding Me.

I can’t believe this story made it past an editor.

The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday. The Web site quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that two US jets armed with tactical nuclear weapons carried out an attack on a suspected nuclear site under construction.

The sources were quoted as saying that Israeli F-15 and F-16 jets provided cover for the US planes.

The sources added that each US plane carried one tactical nuclear weapon and that the site was hit by one bomb and was totally destroyed.

I’ve not seen the story on the AJ web site, though that doesn’t rule out the possibility that the story was written in Arabic and not published on the English side of the site. That said, the story rings false for a few reasons.

First, it’s highly improbable that the US would have used a tactical fighter to carry out this strike. If we were going to drop a bomb of any real size on Syria, using anything short of a stealth bomber would be way too obvious. If we used a stealth bomber, then having a couple Israeli jets flying escort would be ridiculous. I can’t imagine any circumstance under which we wouldn’t use a B-2 bomber for a mission like this.

Second, even though a nuclear strike would explain much about the odd behavior of the Israelis, Turks, Syrians, Iranians, and the UN, it’s certainly not indicated by the information we’ve learned about the site post-strike. The radiation levels at the site aren’t indicative of a nuclear strike at all. Neither is the scene of the strike. You can see before and after photos for yourself here. I’m not seeing the remains of a nuclear strike and I don’t think anyone else does either.

Third, as much as I’d applaud their doing so, there’s no way in the world that the Bush administration, at this point in time, would use a tacnuke on Syria. While it would send a very strong message not only to Baby Assad but also to Mad Mahmoud back in Tehran – a message they very much need to hear in terms they understand – the administration just doesn’t have something like that in them right now. No way. Perhaps in a year, but not now.

Until I see more than the Islamists’ propaganda wing touting an anonymously-sourced story, I’m calling BS on this one. The story is plausible only if you assume that the folks reading it aren’t very bright, are willing to believe the very worst about George Bush, and/or are buying the Islamist slop anyhow. Otherwise, it’s just a bit of not very believable fiction. Might as well print that George Bush orchestrated 9/11 or that he hates black people.

Oh, wait…

(via memeorandum)