| -Caveat Lector-
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 11:28 AM
Subject: [targets-news] US testing 'small nukes' use against
Iraq > Iraq, and possibly other potential adversaries such as North Korea. > > The Times Of India > > SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN > TIMES NEWS NETWORK > > NEW DELHI, February 4, 2003 - The Bush administration is actively > researching the implications of a nuclear attack on deep underground > bunkers using computers to test the 'kill and spill' levels of bunker- > busting 'small' nuclear weapons. > > The program details of which were reported in the Los Angeles Times > on Monday provides further evidence that the US is seriously > contemplating the use of nuclear weapons against Iraq, and possibly > other potential adversaries such as North Korea. > > According to the LAT, the Pentagon "has launched a fast-track program > to develop computers that would help decide when nuclear weapons > might be used to destroy underground bunkers harbouring weapons of > mass destruction". > > Apart from determining the amount of force needed, the system "would > asses the potential for killing nearby civilians and inflicting other > collateral damage, including the spread of radioactive dust thrown > into the air by the nuclear device and the dispersal of toxic > chemicals from weapons in the bunker". > > If the computer tests suggest an "acceptable" civilian casualty rate, > Washington would presumably not be squeamish about using bunker- > busting nukes. > > Whatever the military necessity for such weapons, say critics, the > Bush administration's political motivation is to produce nuclear > weapons that are 'small' enough to use or 'credibly' threaten an > adversary. Pentagon planners feel the destructive potential of > regular nuclear weapons is so enormous as to render them politically > unusable, especially against a non-nuclear adversary like Iraq. > > Though the US has been working for some time to develop a nuclear > weapon capability designed to defeat 'Hardened and Deeply Buried > Targets' (HBDTs), the programme has received a considerable boost > since the election of George W Bush as president. > > "This so-called Robust Nuclear Earth penetrator (RNEP) program is > part of an overall effort ... called the 'Advanced Concepts > Initiative' to look at a variety of new or modified nuclear weapons > capabilities", Kathryn Crandall, a researcher with the British > American Security Information Council (BASIC), told The Times > of India. > > She said the initiative is "certainly very troubling... because it > pushes new nuclear designs or modifications that develop new > capabilities." > > Even though these designs may be validated without any resort to full- > scale underground tests, Crandall said they "may still undermine the > spirit of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the goal of which > has been to curtail development of advanced, new nuclear weapons > capabilities". > > In a report to the US Congress in 2001, the Pentagon estimated that > there are over 10,000 HBDTs worldwide. While very few are of > strategic significance, the Pentagon believes the number will increase > significantly in the next decade. The onset of lower yield nuclear > weapons, says a BASIC report, is shifting the force structure of the > US "towards giving nuclear weapons a more prominent role as usable > weapons". > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow? > artid=36496132&sType=1 > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > US ready for N-option on Iraq > > SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN > TIMES NEWS NETWORK > > The Times Of India, February 3, 2003 > > NEW DELHI: In a development that has sent alarm bells ringing > throughout the world, the Bush administration has given its military > planners the go- ahead to contemplate the use of nuclear weapons > against Iraq. > > Recent reports in the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Times > reveal that the use of nuclear weapons is actively being weighed for > two situations. First, in order to destroy Iraqi command bunkers that > may be located so deep underground that they are beyond the reach of > conventional bombs. And second, to retaliate against - or possibly > even pre-empt - the use of chemical or biological weapons by Iraq. > > > According to US defence analyst William Arkin, "Target lists are > being scrutinised, options are being pondered and procedures are > being tested to give nuclear armaments a role in the new US doctrine > of 'pre-emption'." This planning is being handled by the Pentagon's > Strategic Command (Stratcom). > > A classified document, National Security Presidential Directive 17, > signed by President Bush last September and accessed by the > Washington Times states that "the United States will continue to make > clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force > - including potentially nuclear weapons - to the use of (weapons of > mass destruction) against the US, our forces abroad, our friends and > allies". > > Though the controversial US Nuclear Posture Review envisages the use > of nuclear weapons against targets capable of resisting a > conventional attack, current US planning suggests the Bush > administration is actively contemplating breaking the nuclear taboo. > > To many, however, the nuclear talk is extremely disturbing. "It looks > like the US is keen to stage a demonstration of political power just > as it did by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in > 1945," says leading Indian strategic expert, K Subrahmanyam. > > "Then, the US wanted to send a message to the Soviet Union. Now, it > wants to send a message to the whole world that the US is the sole > superpower, and that it is possible for it to use nuclear weapons and > get away with it". > > The US nuclear 'bunker-buster' bomb, the B-61 Mod 11, is thought to > have a sliding explosive capacity of up to 350 kilotonnes of TNT, or > 17 times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb. > > TOI Comment: Nuclear weapon is premised on the principle that it > cannot and will not be used. The consequences of crossing this > Rubicon are too fearsome even to contemplate. The irony is its use is > being considered by the only country ever to use it - and in the name > of saving the world from nuclear weapons. > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow? > artid=36290705&sType=1 > > Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om |
