Bush Says Syria Nuclear Disclosure Intended to Prod North Korea and Iran

[New York Times] Steven Lee Myers - President Bush said Tuesday that last week's disclosure of evidence of a nearly completed nuclear reactor in Syria was intended to warn North Korea and Iran about the dangers of spreading nuclear weapons. Making the first remarks in public about the Israeli attack by any American official, Bush said that his administration maintained a cloak of secrecy to avoid the risk of further military conflict in the region, including possible Syrian retaliation against Israel. He said that risk of conflict "was reduced" now. Bush said the disclosure of a covert Syrian reactor, which Syria has denied, should persuade other countries to support UN Security Council resolutions intended to keep Iran and other countries from developing nuclear arms. "We have an interest in sending a message to Iran and the world for that matter about just how destabilizing a nuclear proliferation would be in the Middle East," he said.


2008-04-30 01:00:00

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