The Bush administration will tell Congress in open hearings Wednesday that the threat of weapons of mass destruction remains so real the U.S. may have to use military force again to stop their proliferation. In the strongest policy statement yet made, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton will reveal to the House’s Committee on International Relations the administration’s "roll back" doctrine in dealing with weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Bolton will use his testimony to not only justify the U.S. war on Iraq, but also explain why the U.S. may engage in military conflict with other rogue states in the near future.
NewsMax.com has obtained an advance copy of Bolton’s prepared statement from sources close to the committee. Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice have endorsed Bolton’s statement.
Administration officials are prepared for fireworks during Wednesday’s hearing, when Democratic House members are expected to make noise over the administration’s failure to find significant evidence of WMD in Iraq.
Bolton’s testimony is intended to put to rest White House critics who claim the administration used WMD as a ruse to invade Iraq, while outlining a sweeping policy toward other “Axis of Evil” and rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea.
Bolton will tell the committee that the U.S. aims ultimately "not just to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction but also to eliminate or ‘roll back’ such weapons from rogue states and terrorist groups that possess them or are close to doing so."
Though Bolton will stress the U.S. will seek peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the proliferation threat, he will add, ominously, “we rule out no options."
Among those options, Bolton will say, is pre-emptive military force, “as the case of Iraq demonstrates.”
Iraq Justification
According to the draft of Bolton’s testimony, he will vigorously answer critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Bolton argues that there is no doubt that Iraq had a "robust program to develop all types of weapons of mass destruction – nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and the technology to deliver them."
Bolton charges:
- Iraq continued its efforts to develop a nuclear bomb and could have produced one if it had been able to acquire weapons-grade fissile material abroad.
- According to the CIA and UNMOVIC, Iraq had biological weapons and chemical weapons programs – and retained the ability for large-scale production of both weapons systems.
- "The plethora of chemical weapons suits we have found indicated that these weapons must have been there and in abundance.”
- U.N. inspectors concluded that Iraq did not destroy about 10,000 liters of anthrax and reported that Iraq never accounted for an estimated 6,000 missing chemical warfare munitions.
- U.S forces found tactical rockets with warheads especially designed for delivery of chemical weapons.
Bolton says the administration now worries that other rogue states or terrorist groups will employ Iraqi scientists and technicians who worked in the WMD programs.
Bolton also reveals the creation of the Iraq Survey Group, formed to track down and locate Iraq’s WMD. The group will include 1,400 knowledgeable technicians from around the world who will search for banned weapons in Iraq.
We Won't Let Iran Acquite WMD
Bolton will move from Iraq to existing and emerging WMD threats, beginning with Axis of Evil member Iran.
Bolton reports that the U.S has compelling evidence of Iran’s clandestine program to develop nuclear weapons.
He plans to tell Congress the administration will not “let Iran, a leading sponsor of international terrorism, acquire the most destructive weapons and the means to deliver them to Europe, most of central Asia and the Middle East – or further.”
Iran, he charges, "is pursuing its 'civil' nuclear energy program not for peaceful and economic purposes but as a front for developing the capability to produce nuclear materials for nuclear weapons."
Using a similar argument that helped form U.S. policy toward Iraq, Bolton notes “one unmistakable indicator of [Iraq’s] military intent is the secrecy and lack of transparency surrounding Iran’s nuclear activities."
Iran, Bolton says, has also pursued a program to develop chemical weapons and biological warfare weaponry.
"It is widely known," he asserts, "that Iran has stockpiled blister, blood and choking CW warfare agents and possesses the bombs and artillery shells to deliver them."
The U.S. also believes that Iran has produced biological warfare weapons.
North Korea 'Grave Threat'
Bolton will save his strongest rhetoric for North Korea, whose nuclear program poses "a grave threat to regional and global security."
Bolton will also remind Congress that the world must be concerned that the outlaw communist regime could produce and then export nuclear weapons to rogue states of terrorists.
"This is a danger that cannot be ignored," Bolton concludes.
North Korea, he says, has one or possibly two nuclear weapons in its arsenal and could quickly produce more.
Bolton's testimony suggests the U.S. may be on a collision course with Pyongyang.
“We are not going to pay for the elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program,” Bolton says, nor will the administration capitulate to "North Korea's claims and threats."
"Giving in to nuclear blackmail will only encourage this behavior,” Bolton will warn Congress.
More Rogue Threats
In addition to North Korea and Iran, Bolton will tick off a roll of nations now known to be playing in the high-stakes WMD game.
- Libya presents a serious WMD threat, Bolton will say. Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has asserted the right to have nuclear weapons, and his chemical warfare efforts are well advanced. Libya has a biological warfare program.
- Syria maintains a chemical warfare program, has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin and is engaged in research and development of more toxic and persistent nerve agents. They are also working on biological weapons.
- Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort and has provided dual-use biotechnology to rogue states.
- Sudan may pursue a ballistic missile capability in the near future, Bolton will predict.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration
War on Terrorism
