Israel Took Out Syrian Nuclear Base Circa 2007

Believe It or Not, Syria Could Be In Even Worse Shape

Syria is a bloody mess. Its cities lie in ruins. Its antiquities have been destroyed. And the Syrian leader continues to kill his own people. The death toll may be as high as a half million people. Some 10 million Syrians have been displaced. Reporters working there have described it as hell on earth and the images they've provided support their portrayal.

It's hard to imagine how things could be ghastlier. And yet, if not for a stealth nighttime attack a decade ago, the situation today would almost certainly have been worse. Syria might well have been a young nuclear power.

On Sept. 6, 2007, Israeli fighter jets screamed through the skies of western Syria to drop their payloads on the al-Kibar nuclear facility and end, at least temporarily, the secret nuclear program of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The buildings that housed Syria's budding nuclear efforts, unknown to the world, had been the focus of a mad, behind-the-scenes diplomatic scramble for several months, as the Israelis tried to enlist U.S. support for the pre-emptive strike.