|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rumsfeld: Weaker Iraqi military has more-potent armsWeapons of mass destruction stronger than in 1991, he says
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If war is declared, U.S. forces would face a much weaker Iraqi military than in the 1991 Persian Gulf War but one whose chemical and biological weapons could be more devastating, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a conservative think tank Tuesday. The chemical and biological capabilities "are, in my judgment, probably more lethal and dangerous today than they would have been back in '91, but I don't know that for sure. I don't think anyone does, except the Iraqis," Rumsfeld told an audience at the Hoover Institution. Rumsfeld said Iraq has unmanned aircraft that could deliver chemical or biological weapons "with great precision." Iraqi conventional forces are estimated to be about 50 percent of their pre-1991 strength, Rumsfeld said. United Nations weapons inspectors destroyed a large portion of Iraq's declared chemical and biological weapons capabilities from 1991 to 1998, and inspectors say they have found no chemical or biological weapons since they resumed work in November. But chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said that Iraq has not accounted for large quantities of weapons, including anthrax and the nerve agent VX. The United States, Britain and Spain proposed a U.N. resolution Monday designed to clear the way for military action against Iraq on the grounds that it "has failed to take the final opportunity" to disarm. (Full story) Germany, France and Russia presented a memorandum, not a competing resolution, that says "the military option should only be a last resort" and calls for more inspections. (Full story) Rumsfeld to Saddam: 'Just leave'On Tuesday, Rumsfeld defined Saddam Hussein's options in an interview on the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera, based in Qatar. "Just leave, go to another country," Rumsfeld said. Saddam has two other choices, Rumsfeld said: to cooperate with weapons inspectors, which he said the Iraqi leader has not done; and to do nothing, which would lead to a potential conflict. The third scenario, Rumsfeld said, "is everyone's last choice." U.S. and British troops, warships and aircraft have gathered in the Persian Gulf region in preparation for a possible war, and U.S. officials have warned that Iraqi commanders who order the use of weapons of mass destruction could be treated as war criminals after the conflict. Iraq says it has dismantled its weapons of mass destruction and is complying with U.N. disarmament demands. The United States argues that Iraq is maintaining stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and is hiding those weapons from inspectors.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
