US ready to use nuclear weapons in Iraq

RBC.ru (Russia), 19 March 2003

Americans are going to use over 300 kinds of new weapons in their military campaign against Iraq, General Colonel Leonid Ivashov, Vice President of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems, said at a news conference on Tuesday. According to him, the United States has been actively developing penetrating low-powered nuclear missiles recently. Gen.-Col. Ivashov noted that the last time the US stepped up the development of new weapons was before the war in Yugoslavia.

There is no doubt that the US will use nuclear weapons, which have already been delivered to US military bases in Kuwait, he said. According to Leonid Ivashov, the United States will use nuclear weapons if coalition forces meet strong resistance during a ground operation. To lose this war would be unacceptable for George Bush’s administration, he added.

The Los Angeles Times also reported earlier that the US might use nuclear weapons in Iraq. According to the newspaper, Pentagon considers deploying nuclear weapons to destroy fortified underground shelters used as Iraqi military bases. It is almost impossible to destroy such defenses using traditional weapons.