U.S. says prepared to use nuclear
weapons in response to WMD
Reuters
11 December 2002
WASHINGTON - The United States reminded Iraq and other countries on
Tuesday that it was prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary to
respond to an attack from weapons of mass destruction.
The warning, which underscored longstanding U.S. policy leaving open
the use of nuclear weapons if needed, was contained in a statement
of U.S. strategy against nuclear, chemical and biological weapons -
the first update since 1993.
The six-page strategy document says deterring attacks with the
threat of "overwhelming force" is an essential element in protecting
America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction, also known
as WMD.
"The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the
right to respond with overwhelming force - including through resort
to all our options - to the use of WMD against the United States,
our forces abroad, and friends and allies," the strategy report
said.
"In addition to our conventional and nuclear response and defense
capabilities, our overall deterrent posture against WMD threats is
reinforced by effective intelligence, surveillance, interdiction and
domestic law enforcement capabilities," it said.
Senior U.S. officials said the passage was not included the previous
U.S. strategy document on weapons of mass destruction, which
emphasized efforts to prevent proliferation, and said the new
document did not represent a shift in U.S. policy on when it would
use nuclear weapons.
But the passage was put in the new report as part of an increased
emphasis on the role of deterrence against a weapons of mass
destruction attack, they said.
Other major elements of the new strategy include strengthening
nonproliferation measures, beefing up defenses and combating the
effects of an attack on the population.
The strategy report was released amid the looming possibility of war
with Iraq, which the United States accuses of possessing weapons of
mass destruction, officials said.
"The language speaks for itself, and I think it does apply to any
state that would use weapons of mass destruction against us," a
senior official said.
But the warning emphasizes and makes explicit for other countries a
private warning Bush's father, former President George Bush, made in
a letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the eve of the first
Gulf War.
In that letter, the United States threatened the "severest
consequences" if Iraq were to use chemical or biological weapons
against the United States, destroy Kuwaiti oil fields or participate
in terrorism.
"It was clear in terms of the message that we would respond with all
of our options. ... The Iraqis have told us that they interpreted
that letter as meaning the United States would use nuclear weapons,
and it was a powerful deterrent," the official said.
Although Iraq later set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields and supported
terrorism, the official said, it did not "cross the line" of using
chemical or biological weapons.
