Barak defers U.S. trip in wake of CIA briefing over Syrian strike
Defense Minister Ehud Barak postponed a trip to Washington scheduled to begin Sunday in the wake of Thursday’s CIA briefing to Congress over Israel’s September 2007 airstrike on a Syrian nuclear installation.
Barak was slated to meet with senior U.S. officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during the two-day visit.
Barak made the decision a few days ago. The postponement is aimed at avoiding the impression that his meetings were in any way connected to the U.S. decision to disclosure information on the Syrian facility.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials yesterday said their concerns that the CIA briefing would lead to a rise in tensions with Syria were proved groundless, but military officials nevertheless expect Israel’s northern border to remain tense in the near term.
Israeli military censors are refraining from censoring reports over the airstrike originating from foreign news sources. In the days directly before the Congressional briefing Israel Defense Forces and intelligence officials were asked not to leak information on the operation.
Tags: israel, Trip, trip to
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Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 12:25 am under