U.S. Weighs Plans To Destroy Iraq's WMD:
Washington Believes Baghdad Can Tip Scud Missiles With Chemicals

June 5, 2002

The Pentagon and military have been discussing with U.S. allies a range of options to quickly destroy Iraq's facilities for weapons of mass destruction.

Iraq is believed to be preparing its biological and chemical weapons arsenal for a war with the United States.

Washington's plans include a lightning strike on western Iraq and Baghdad, where the majority of missile and WMD installations are believed to be located.

U.S. officials said the Defense Department and the military are bracing for the prospect that Iraq will tip its Scud-class missiles with chemical weapons. They said Baghdad has such capability although they were uncertain whether this extends to biological weapons.

Officials said U.S. and allied forces have been training in Kuwait and in the United States to fight under a WMD attack. The soldiers have been outfitted with special masks and body-suits meant to protect against a biological and chemical weapons attack as well as nuclear radiation fallout.

So far, officials said, soldiers wearing such equipment have found it difficult to advance in combat. The protective suits and masks are said to quickly retain the harsh desert heat that soldiers will encounter in Iraq.

Iraq is believed to have a range of biological and chemical weapons as well as the systems for their delivery. The weapons include anthrax, botulism, sarin, and VX.

Officials said Washington has assessed that Iraq has the ability to weaponize these weapons' agents in the warheads of short- and medium-range missiles. Iraq has hundreds of short-range Scud-B missiles as well as up to 50 medium-range Al Hussein missiles, with a range of about 600 kilometers.

Baghdad has also been producing missiles with a range of 150 kilometers. But officials said many of the missiles have been designed so that their range can be extended if necessary.

Officials said the Defense Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the military's Central Command have been grappling with the prospect of an Iraqi WMD strike on U.S. forces advancing on Baghdad as well as on such U.S. allies as Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

They said that a leading assessment is that Israel will be the first target of an Iraqi missile and WMD attack in an effort to win Arab support.

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