arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

U.S. CONSIDERS NUKES TO DESTROY SADDAM'S WMD

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Bush administration is being quietly urged to develop low-yield nuclear bombs to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.

Industry sources said the administration is being lobbied by both the Pentagon and members of Congress to develop a new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons. The bombs would seek to destroy hardened targets in rogue states, particularly Iraq.

The U.S. military, the sources said, have been largely unsuccessful in destroying the bunkers used by Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force has used the conventional GBU-28 bombs for such missions.

Dr. Robert Nelson of the Federation of American Scientists disclosed the program during a conference on Nov. 8 in Washington. Nelson is regarded as close to the Pentagon and knowledgeable of classified military projects.