AFP - The United States is considering using nuclear weapons in a possible future war against Iraq to destroy underground command posts and stop Iraqi forces from using weapons of mass destruction, a top US private military expert warned.
Citing multiple sources, William Arkin said plans for using nuclear weapons against Iraq are being fleshed out at the US Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska; inside planning offices of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and at an "undisclosed location" in Pennsylvania where US Vice-President Dick Cheney used to spend time during terrorism alerts.
"Nuclear weapons have, since they were first created, been part of the arsenal discussed by war planners," Arkin writes in an article slated for publication in The Los Angeles Times.
"But the Bush administration's decision to actively plan for possible preemptive use of such weapons, especially as so-called bunker busters, against Iraq represents a significant lowering of the nuclear threshold," he said.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed in December 2001 a classified nuclear posture review that opened the possibility for nuclear weapons to be used against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack,
Nations such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria were added to the list of possible targets.
According to Arkin, 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.
This work is currently under way at the Strategic Command, which Arkin says has already prepared a "Theatre Nuclear Planning Document" for Iraq to be used by the of Bush added and the Central Command, which will be executing an invasion of Iraq if Bush opts for one.
A former US Army intelligence analyst, Arkin is no longer part of the US military establishment. But he is known for his strong Pentagon connections and extensive knowledge of military issues.
Defence Department spokesman Major Ted Wadsworth refused to confirm or deny the report, saying: "That's something that policymakers have to talk about."
©AAP 2003
Citing multiple sources, William Arkin said plans for using nuclear weapons against Iraq are being fleshed out at the US Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska; inside planning offices of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and at an "undisclosed location" in Pennsylvania where US Vice-President Dick Cheney used to spend time during terrorism alerts.
"Nuclear weapons have, since they were first created, been part of the arsenal discussed by war planners," Arkin writes in an article slated for publication in The Los Angeles Times.
"But the Bush administration's decision to actively plan for possible preemptive use of such weapons, especially as so-called bunker busters, against Iraq represents a significant lowering of the nuclear threshold," he said.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed in December 2001 a classified nuclear posture review that opened the possibility for nuclear weapons to be used against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack,
Nations such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria were added to the list of possible targets.
According to Arkin, 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.
This work is currently under way at the Strategic Command, which Arkin says has already prepared a "Theatre Nuclear Planning Document" for Iraq to be used by the of Bush added and the Central Command, which will be executing an invasion of Iraq if Bush opts for one.
A former US Army intelligence analyst, Arkin is no longer part of the US military establishment. But he is known for his strong Pentagon connections and extensive knowledge of military issues.
Defence Department spokesman Major Ted Wadsworth refused to confirm or deny the report, saying: "That's something that policymakers have to talk about."
©AAP 2003
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