Because it was there...

Because they could.

Israel did not have a clear idea of the nature of the facility it targeted in Syria in September 2007, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh posits in a New Yorker article scheduled to be published next week.....

Hersh said that the primary objective of the bombing was to send a forceful message to Iran.

Later: I don't know about the rest of the allegations here, but Rawstory does have another clip from the article.

Hersh writes in that article, "Whatever was under construction, with North Korean help, it apparently had little to do with agriculture -- or with nuclear reactors -- but much to do with Syria's defense posture, and its military relationship with North Korea. And that, perhaps, was enough to silence the Syrian government after the September 6th bombing."

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