Of nukes and NoKo

J.G. Thayer at Commentary Magazine has a theory about the curious incident that happened in Syria.

The theory goes that North Korea, not comfortable with the international spotlight, decided that it needed to get rid of its nuclear weapons program. It talked to Syria, and found they were amenable to taking over North Korea's program and materiel. So North Korea loaded the whole kit and kaboodle on a ship and sailed it off to Syria.

Israel learned of the move, naturally saw it as a threat, and warned the U.S. that it was going on. They might have considered sinking the ship, but that would have both opened them to yet another round of international condemnation and destroyed the evidence proving their case.

So the ship was allowed to proceed to Syria unmolested, while the U.S. was convinced that the threat was valid. Then, once the facility was identified, Israel (with a bit of covert assistance from the U.S.) destroyed it.

As part of the strike, Israelis very well might have landed and captured evidence of the nuclear weapons program.

Syria, caught with its pants down, and concerned that Israel might make its evidence public, quickly reacted by trying to cover up the whole incident. They leveled the site and issued a pro forma protest.

North Korea, infuriated that its material had been destroyed, issued a furious protest — one far more vehement than that of Syria, who was the direct victim of the attack.

Yes, all rampant speculation and utterly unfounded theory, but congruent with the known facts.