@head = UNITED STATES: Pentagon paper plans ‘pre-emptive’ nuclear attacks

The Pentagon has drafted a revised doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons that envisions them being used in pre-emptive attacks on countries or “non-state actors” using “or intending to use” chemical or biological weapons against US or allied military forces. The draft also includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy suspected stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. The September 11 Washington Post reported that the document, written by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff but not yet finally approved by defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, says that there are “about thirty nations with WMD programs” along with “non-state actors either independently or as sponsored by an adversarial state” that would be potential targets for such pre-emptive strikes. The Post reported that “the Pentagon paper says preparations must be made to use nuclear weapons and show determination to use them ‘if necessary to prevent or retaliate against WMD use’.”

From Green Left Weekly, September 21, 2005.
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