Analysis: IAEA confirmation vindicates Israel's strike

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's comments on Syria's attempt at starting a nuclear programme will surprise few who have followed events since the sudden air strike on Al Kibar by Israel back in September 2007.

He has simply said what everyone already knew - although in doing so Mr Amano has shown considerable more candour than his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei, an Egyptian, and a man who may yet lead his country. As IAEA head, Mr ElBaradei was always too conscious of being seen as a stooge of the West, a position he would no doubt describe as being "sensitive to the region."

However, those who recall the Israeli attack will also recall Syria's resounding silence in its aftermath. That silence, in a region where the slightest Israeli infraction is usually met with howls of protest, indicated only one thing - the Israelis had got it right, and Damascus was attempting to acquire a nuclear capability.

And moreover, they were doing it with the help of those nuclear-armed pariahs, the North Koreans. Why Mr Amano has chosen to make his comments now is anyone's guess. In Paris yesterday, the IAEA immediately tried to back-peddle - but all too late.

Bashar al-Assad's forces are now attempting to smash opposition to his rule - one inherited from his late father, Hafez, who crushed a Sunni uprising in 1982 by shelling the town of Hama, killing up to 25,000. The thought of a regime that carries such ruthlessness at its core - without even the checks and balances which are present in Iran's theocracy - possessing a nuclear capability is a frightening one.

Israel's decision to act swiftly and alone four years ago has undoubtedly done the world a favour.