WILL NEW SYRIAN NUCLEAR FACILITY TWO MILES FROM LEBANON AFFECT COUNTRY RISK ?

Aerial photograph of Al-Qusayr nuclear facility

A number of resources that cover the illicit development of nuclear weapons have detailed construction of what it claimed to be a nuclear facility, in Syria, near the town of Al-Qusayr. The facility, which reportedly is mainly underground, is said to be guarded by Hezbollah militants, and is receiving on-site technical assistance from Iranian and North Korean engineers.

Given that Israel has previously destroyed a Syrian nuclear weapons development site, and that al-Qusayr could be an attempt by Iran to create nuclear weapons capability, at a facility off-limits to IAEA inspectors, and Western intelligence agencies, the site could be targeted for an air strike, sabotage, or demolition, to prevent Iran from developing operational nuclear weapons. It could also suffer an accident, which would leak radiation into the atmosphere, following the prevailing westerly winds.

Too close for comfort, if you are a Lebanese ?

The problem: the facility is less than two miles from the frontier with Lebanon; if you remember the Chernobyl disaster, with the resultant effects of radiation upon the environment, individuals tasked with risk assessment may want to take this development into account when computing Country Risk for Lebanon. Whether it occurs as the result of an air strike, or a safety flaw leading to an accident, Lebanon will soon find itself at risk, due to someone else's nuclear toys.