U.S. prepares nuclear contingency

As the Pentagon continues a highly visible buildup of troops and weapons in the Gulf, it is also quietly preparing for the possible use of nuclear weapons in the potential war against Iraq, according to a report by a defence analyst.

Although they consider such a strike unlikely, military planners have been actively studying lists of potential targets and considering options, including the possible use of so-called bunker buster'' nuclear weapons against deeply buried military targets, says analyst William M. Arkin, who writes a regular column on defence matters for the Los Angeles Times.

Military officials have been focusing their planning on the use of nuclear arms in retaliation for a strike by the Iraqis with chemical or biological weapons, or to pre-empt one, Arkin says.

Administration officials believe that in some circumstances, nuclear arms may offer the only way to destroy deeply buried targets that may contain unconventional weapons that could kill thousands. Some officials have argued that the blast and radiation effects of such strikes would be limited.

But that is in dispute. Critics contend that a bunker-buster strike could involve a huge radiation release and dangerous blast damage. They also say that use of a nuclear weapon in such circumstances would encourage other nuclear-armed countries to consider using those weapons in more kinds of situations, and would badly undermine the half-century effort to contain the spread of nuclear weapons.

Although it may be highly unlikely that the Bush administration would authorise the use of such weapons in Iraq - Arkin describes it as a worst-case scenario - the mere disclosure of its planning contingencies could stiffen the opposition of France, Germany and Middle East nations to any invasion of Iraq.

"If the United States dropped a bomb on an Arab country, it might be a military success, but it would be a diplomatic, political and strategic disaster,'' said Joseph Cirincione, director of nonproliferation studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.