#12
Possibility of US Lowering 'Nuclear War Threshold' in Iraq Viewed
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
4 January 2003
Article by Vladimir Bogdanov:
"Bomb Will Smother All Living Things. Nuclear War May Start In Iraq"

To Washington's considerable annoyance, the UN disarmament inspectors have so far failed to find even indirect confirmation of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But, apparently, as far as the White House is concerned this is not an argument for not using force to resolve the Iraq problem. In virtually all leading Western media there are leaked reports about what new types of weapons the Americans intend to test in Iraq.

When you analyze all the information coming in you automatically come to the conclusion that Washington is reviving the idea of mass bombing, which was used by Hitlerite Germany in World War II and, later, by the United States itself in Vietnam. But in Iraq this may now take place at a totally different qualitative level. We are talking about new massively destructive bombs that destroy not only the country's infrastructure and military facilities, but also massive numbers of civilians. The United States intends to bomb Iraq back into the Dark Ages, using it as a site for testing the latest types of weapons.

The Pentagon has launched a debate about how to destroy Saddam's bacteriological and chemical weapons (if they are found, of course). The proposal is to use thermobaric or thermocorrosion bombs: They contain a chemical that burns at a very high temperature. They are also called plasma bombs. When dropped on the target the bomb releases a chemical which forms a gaseous dome with a diameter of around three kilometers above the surface. Special laser fuze units release beams of light which cause the atomized chemical to react with oxygen. There is a massive explosion accompanied by the creation of a vacuum over the target area in which anything left alive simply dies of suffocation.

Two-tonne GBU28 smart bombs will be widely used against underground storage facilities. They are the so-called bunker busters, which were used only twice during the first war in the Persian Gulf. They penetrate the surface vertically and explode only when they reach the target with the help of a sensor that is capable of distinguishing earth, steel, and reinforced concrete.

The British-designed microwave bomb will make its debut in this second war with Iraq: The bomb explodes in the air and creates an electromagnetic field which knocks out not only refrigerators containing biological weapons, but all electrical instruments. All hospitals will effectively be out of action.

CBU-97 bombs will be used against Saddam's tanks. Each releases 40 "smart missiles," each of which will destroy an area of 120 square meters.

A battle for every house in a large city can result on major losses: Some calculate that three in 10 soldiers would be killed. According to US experts, it must be a blitzkrieg, in order to prevent Iraqis from leaving the city: If they manage to do so despite everything, there will be no urban warfare: There will be a siege, which will last at least a month. In that case the French media do not rule out the possibility of special directed energy nuclear bombs being used to destroy underground bunkers. They are fifteen times weaker than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the United States and can penetrate six meters underground. Then there is an explosion that leads to the formation of a series of powerful seismic waves destroying underground installations and bomb shelters, which also results in a massive civilian death toll. The possibility of using yet another completely new 15-tonne bomb that destroys targets deep underground is being examined. Its effect is similar to that of a small nuclear bomb.

In cases where these ultrasmall weapons are used the nuclear war threshold is dramatically lowered. You might not want to believe it, but the United States is going further and further beyond reasonable bounds in its military plans for Iraq. This is indicated in particular by a recent statement by Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld. Warning Iraq against the use of chemical and biological weapons in the event of the United States' and its allies' starting a military action against Baghdad, the secretary said: "If during a war Iraq were to use weapons of mass destruction against the troops of the allies or any state, it would meet with a tough response." It appears that by the words "tough response" Rumsfeld means the use of nuclear weapons. Incidentally, this is also confirmed by an updated report published by the White House on US military strategy (the previous one was compiled in 1993), which directly states that the United States reserves the right to respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction with a "crushing" strike, including a nuclear strike. The document notes that Washington may do this "if weapons of mass destruction are used against the United States, its forces abroad, or against friends and allies.

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