- The US is considering using nuclear weapons to destroy
Saddam Hussein's underground command posts and stop him using his own weapons
of mass destruction, a military expert warned yesterday.
-
- Former US Army intelligence analyst William Arkin - known
for his Pentagon connections - said plans were being laid at the Strategic
Command bunker in Nebraska, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
-
- "Nuclear weapons have, since they were first created,
been part of the arsenal of war planners," Mr Arkin wrote in The LA
Times.
-
- "But the Bush administration's decision to actively
plan for possible pre-emptive use of such weapons represents a significant
lowering of the nuclear threshold," he said.
-
- In Canberra last night a spokesman for Prime Minister
John Howard reiterated comments Mr Howard made last week to the British
press:
-
- "If I thought there were going to be nuclear weapons
used I would not allow Australian forces to be involved."
-
- Washington has already warned Baghdad that any resort
to weapons of mass destruction might have the most severe consequences,
a diplomatic phrase for a nuclear strike.
-
- In December 2001, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed
a classified nuclear posture review opening the way for nuclear weapons
to be used against targets invulnerable to non-nuclear attack.
-
- Nations such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria
were listed as possible targets.
-
- The review also called upon the military to develop plans
to attack foreign weapons of mass destruction facilities, even if the enemy
did not resort to them first, Mr Arkin wrote.
-
- This work is currently under way at the Strategic Command,
which Mr Arkin says has already prepared a "Theatre Nuclear Planning
Document" for Iraq.
-
- Earlier this month Mr Bush approved a request by Mr Rumsfeld
to put Admiral James Ellis in charge of dealing with foreign weapons of
mass destruction.
-
- "On the surface, these new assignments give the
command a broader set of tools to avoid nuclear escalation," wrote
the expert. "In reality, they open the door to contemplating American
use of nuclear weapons."
-
- Defence Department spokesman Major Ted Wadsworth would
only say: "That's something that policymakers have to talk about."
-
- An administration official said: "The US reserves
the right to act in defence of itself and its allies by whatever means
necessary."
-
- * SOUTH Korea has urged the UN nuclear watchdog to postpone
a meeting on North Korean - asking for more time to allow diplomatic efforts
to work.
-
- The request came after Seoul announced it was sending
two envoys, including a special advisor to the president, to Pyongyang
for talks on the nuclear stand-off.
-
- Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency said
it would hold an emergency session on February 3 to decide whether to refer
the matter to the Security Council.
-
- http://dailytelegraph.com.au
|
