Destroying Nuclear Reactors Just Doesn't Generate Much Interest Anymore

Writing for the Washington Times, Charley Levine notes that taking out nuclear reactors of dangerous regimes just doesn't garner much attention anymore:

Three attacks on developing nuclear centers have occurred around the world, the most recent scant months ago. It is amazing that the year 2010 - pegged universally as crunch time for Iran's atomic ambitions - ended with such a whimper, not a bang. It was to be a year characterized ultimately by a crippling counterblow to Tehran's plans - with nary a peep from the media. No "top 10 stories of 2010" inclusions. Not even a WikiLeak.

Israel's destruction of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor on June 7, 1981 led to worldwide condemnation, to be sure. Yet, 3 years ago Syrias nuclear site at Deir Ez Zor was leveled--and the situation was different. Turkish airspace was used, implying approval. More to the point, the reaction of the world and of the regime was different:

Although then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed (a WikiLeak revelation) that Israel had rather unsurprisingly mounted the attack, no U.N. condemnations followed from an international body never shy to hurl hostile pronunciamentos in Jerusalem's direction. With supreme irony, the Syrians were too embarrassed to make much of a to-do, and Israel clearly preferred to keep it quiet.

And that brings us to the 3rd attack on a nuclear reactor--by Stuxnet:

Most amazing of all, the third attack was "silent but not subtle," as one analyst observed. Stuxnet. Even the name discourages casual conversation. Try saying it five times, fast. Perhaps the most sophisticated, complex worm virus ever designed (massively comprising 15,000 lines of code) invaded the rapidly developing computer control systems of Iran's atomic facilities. Analysts ascribed the capability to develop this level of malware to a small circle of candidates: the United States, Britain and Israel.

These days, to see if something is really in the news, you Google it:

A cursory Google news scan turned up only 30 references to Osirak, which is, of course, more history than news in 2011. But key word searches for the Syrian episode revealed only 131 news references and Stuxnet barely cleared the 1,000 hurdle. Contrasted to Justin Bieber announcing his upcoming performance in Israel, these tiny numbers border somewhere between negligible and nonexistent.

And if Israel really is behind the Stuxnet virus, that is a good thing for a country that usually is expected to apologize for defending itself.

Technorati Tag: Stuxnet and Osirak.