**US MAY USE TATICAL NUKES IN IRAQ**

LA Times and Times of India ^ | January 25, 2003 | William Arkin

[ewing]

The United States is quietly preparing for the use of tatical nuclear weapons in a war against Iraq and military planners have been actively studying lists of potential targets, the media reported Saturday.

The preparations include possible use of so called 'bunker buster' nuclear weapons against deeply buried military targets the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday morning quoting William M. Arkin.

Defence officials have been focusing their plans on the use of tatical nuclear arms in retaliation for a strike by the Iraqis with chemical or biological weapons, or to preempt one, the daily said.

US Administration officials believe that in some circumstances, using nuclear arms may be the only way to destory deeply buried targets that may contain unconventional weapons, the report said.

Some officials have argued that the blast and radiation of effect of such strikes would be limited.

[pickemuphere]

Gosh darn HTML. Why didn't that work?

[Rome2000]

Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Vanishes

NewsMax's correspondent at the United Nations, Stewart Stogel, says Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri is missing.

Aldouri decided to take an "overdue" home leave during the week of Dec. 15.

He told NewsMax it would be the first time to return home and visit relatives in more than a year. The ambassador said he would return to New York and his U.N. post on Jan. 15.

He hasn't.

Inquiries to the Iraqi mission have resulted in "moving dates" as to just when Aldouri will return.

At the beginning of this past week, a senior Iraq diplomat explained the ambassador would return "by Wednesday." On Thursday, another Iraqi diplomat said it could be any time "between now and Monday." He could offer no explanation to account for the delay.

UNMOVIC and the IAEA must submit their latest update on Iraqi cooperation and inspections analysis to the Security Council on Monday.

Aldouri was last seen in public in Baghdad about two weeks ago. He was present at a factory site being inspected by UNMOVIC. The U.N. froze the site for several hours.

Aldouri voluntarily elected to remain at the site while the inspections were in progress. Afterward, he complained about the "conduct" of the inspections and the inspectors. Since then, he has not been heard from.

In his absence, Iraq's deputy U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Salman Ali has assumed Aldouri's duties.

As previously reported in NewsMax, Ali is regarded in U.N. diplomatic circles as the New York station chief for Iraq's intelligence service.

A little over a year ago, Iraq's No. 2 and No. 3 diplomats defected to the U.S. just as their tours of duty at the U.N. had ended.

In 1991, Iraq's ambassador to the United States defected shortly before the start of the Gulf War.

In March 2002, a high-level group of Iraqi officials visiting the U.N. on the possible resumption of arms inspections were approached by the U.S. to defect.

One was Gen. Amir al-Saadi, Saddam's chief scientific and senior military weapons adviser. Another was Saeed Hassan, Iraq's former U.N. ambassador and Aldouri's predecessor. None accepted the U.S. "offer."

However, all of this happened on Aldouri's watch.

Aldouri was also believed to be close to former Iraqi oil minister Gen. Amir Rasheed, who unexpectedly "resigned" last month.

The ambassador's influence at home is regarded by U.N. diplomats as "decreasing."

The fact that Aldouri remains at home while the suspected intelligence chief runs the show in New York (just as UNMOVIC and the IAEA prepare critical reports) has led to speculation among numerous diplomats as to what Baghdad is up to.

[cake_crumb]

"More psy ops on Saddam?"

Sort of...but tactical nukes have always been a possibility, given Saddam's and Uday's words, actions and instability.

Remember that Uday 'warned' the US yesterday that a coalition attack will result in Iraq unleashing something that would '9/11 look like a picnic' [close paraphrase without taking time to dig up the actual quote]

This is likely just a subtle, AND TRUTHFUL reiteration of the US position that an Iraqi WMD attack would result in Iraq suffering the "ultimate" consequenses.

The US is wise to flex military muscle to back up it's positions. President Bush took Binny's 'stronger horse' comments to heart.

[Nexus]

try <> instead of []

[elfman2]

”Gosh darn HTML. Why didn't that work?”

Close, but no cigar, it’s <i>”quoted stuff”</i>, not [i]”quoted stuff”[/i]

[cake_crumb]

"It's my understanding that "bunker busters" are not nuclear weapons."

I must have missed that part of the article, LOL...but if you think about it, a nuke COULD pretty effectively bust a bunker...or at least seal it in glass so thick whomever's inside had better have a few hundred pears worth of rations and air.

HEY...isn't the first shipment of rabidly freedom hating socialist/fascist/communist/anarchist Western psychopathic human shields supposed to leave for Iraq today?

[Happy2BMe]

"The LA SLIMES and company are doing their best to try and paint this as some startling and troubling development, when the fact of the matter is that Every campaign is designed with the use of ALL weapons factored in as contingencies."

Dead-On-Target!

Truth is, U.S. Field Commanders (0-6 and above) had nuclear auhtorization clearance in Desert Storm.

Stormin' Normin was never more than fifty feet from "The Button."

buh buh Saddamned!

[Happy2BMe]

"This leak was necessary, and all to the good."

Good post, Christoph!

Q: Does Saddam ready his news on WWW.FREEREPUBLIC.COM?

#:>)

[copycat]

Would a nuclear reaction render bio and chem agents inert?

[neutrino]

Now, who says there isn't good news in the public press these days? (Big smile)

[Happy2BMe]

"HEY...isn't the first shipment of rabidly freedom hating socialist/fascist/communist/anarchist Western psychopathic human shields supposed to leave for Iraq today? "

The Washington Republican Party Response to Patty is HERE

Hi! My Name is "Taliban" Patty Murray But You Can Just Call Me Traitor!

Listen To My Radio Show "Taliban" Patty - Live From Baghdad! [strum, strum] "Where have all my neurons gone . . ."

[putupon]

Sure, that wouldn’t pull the plug on anti- terrorism cooperation we're getting from Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa, South America and the Antarctic.

Nuke them too if they want act up.

[Happy2BMe]

"Would a nuclear reaction render bio and chem agents inert?"

The heat generated from a detonated nuclear weapon would depend on the megatonnage and type of device employed.

Some nukes are designed for high-short term radiation and low-damage so as to kill all local living organisms, but render buildings still able to be occupied.

The rest of the nukes reach temps comparable to the heat on the surface of the sun - killing any chems or bio WMDs.

[TommyDale]

"It's my understanding that "bunker busters" are not nuclear weapons."

Go to http://www.softwar.net/agm86.html

[WatchNKorea]

"The United States is quietly preparing for the use of tatical nuclear weapons in a war against Iraq..."

Sounds good to me!

[Happy2BMe]

" I think this is what going after Iraq is all about. The US believes that Saddam will attack Israel sooner or later with his WMDs.

Israel would retaliate with deadly force. Other Arab countries would join in the fracas and the whole thing would turn into a bloody, regional war in a place from which the world gets a great deal of its oil from.

This of course will have far reaching effects in terms of world economic stability, much worse than WTC. Say what you want about blood for oil, but people will suffer without the oil."

Your insight as to the underlying reason the U.S. has no option other than destroying Saddam's regime is DEAD-ON-TARGET.

And all the while, the ar$ehole, Bill Clinton is going around bashing Bush from the shadows of the DNC platform.

Bill Clinton's Lies and Promises - Did He Cause 9/11/01?

[TLBSHOW]

And watchsouthAmerica they're closer!

[concerned about politics]

Of course Iraq has WMD. How else could Saddams son threaten to make 9/11 look like a joke?
I'm glad the U.S. is getting ready like this. The Butcher of Bagdad has more than the extremists liberals could even imagine- and they're planning to stand right in the line of fire! DUH!

[Happy2BMe]

TommyDale. .

U.S. AIR LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE

WARHEAD - NUCLEAR W-80 NUCLEAR WARHEAD 250 KILOTON YIELD

CONVENTIONAL 1,000+ LB. FRAGMENTARY OR BUNKER

BUSTER WARHEAD WITH ROCKET ASSIST PENETRATION

RANGE - 750 MILES A VERSION

1,500 MILES B VERSION WING SPAN - 9 FT. 5 IN. A VERSION

12 FT. B VERSION

LENGTH - 14 FT. A VERSION

20 FT. 9 IN. B VERSION

DIAMETER - 25 IN. WEIGHT - 1,900 POUNDS A VERSION

2,825 POUNDS B VERSION

ENGINE - ONE F-107-WR-100 WILLIAMS TURBOFAN 600 LBS. THRUST

GUIDANCE - GPS, TERCOM AND IR/RADAR IMAGING SYSTEM WITH ACCURACY OF +/- 1 METER

SPEED - CRUISE MACH .65 - TERMINAL MACH 1.1 B VERSION

AGM-86B - rocket assisted bunker "buster"

The Boeing air launched cruise missile (ALCM) uses the same engine and similar guidance systems as the BGM-109 Tomahawk. The USAF originally intended the ALCM as a nuclear strike weapon but has since modified the A model into conventional warhead B models.

The new B models have extended range fuel tanks and larger warhead capacity than the older nuclear A models. The B model is 30% longer and has a 25 degree wing sweep. The B model can be equipped with a variety of conventional and unconventional warheads including non-lethal energy warheads such as High Frequency RF, EMG, or microwave generators designed to knock out enemy electronics.

The variety of warheads has also served to confuse USAF target planners. One 1997 strike of "fragmentary" warhead equipped AGM-86Bs was targeted at an Iraqi hardened bunker. The fragmentary warheads exploded harmlessly outside the bunker, causing no damage. A second strike of a bunker buster 1,000+ pound AGM-86B had to be targeted against the Iraqi bunker to destroy it.

The U.S. used about 90 AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise missiles (ALCM) during Desert Fox. All the USAF launched ALCM cruise missiles were Block 1 types equipped with heavy conventional warheads for bunker busting. The bunker busters are equipped with a rocket assisted booster for added penetration.

The U.S. military is scrambling to replace the highly valuable robot missiles but the Air Force has opted not to purchase new units. Instead, the USAF is upgrading leftover inventories of nuclear B models.

The USAF bought only 200 of the heavy conventional ALCM missiles and has only enough on hand for one more Desert Fox like attack. The firing of 90 for Desert Fox has left the Air Force little choice but to convert 90 more of a remaining 130 formerly nuclear tipped missiles into bunker busters.

[cake_crumb]

"[strum, strum] 'Where have all my neurons gone . . .' "

ROFLOL!! "Muslims picked 'em, every one'?

Murray can't provide facts to back up her idiotic statements because there aren't any...unless you consider terrorist indoctrination camps (madrassas) to be 'schools', a couple of packed dirt highways through the desert of Afghanistan so the Taliban could murder, rape and pilliage more easily to be 'infrastructure', and a few triage units inside al Qaeda camps for wounded terrorists to be 'hospitals'.