AFF/NUCLEAR: WMD ARE A GLOBAL THREAT

WMD RISKS EXIST ALL OVER THE WORLD

Simon Tisdall January 13, 2001 The Guardian (London) SECTION: Guardian Home Pages, Pg. 3 HEADLINE: US Military expansion: Fear of attack triggers arms build-up: Rogue states identified in attempt to boost spending //VT2002acsln

States of concern: The report provides a breakdown of attempts by Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and others, including Pakistan, Sudan and Syria, to enhance missile capability or acquire or augment weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It predicts, for example, that should sanctions be lifted against Iraq Saddam Hussein could have an offensive nuclear weapon within five years. It says India and Pakistan are engaged in an arms race that could have catastrophic consequences. It accuses Iran of being dedicated to obtaining nuclear weapons and pursuing "offensive biological warfare capabilities".

25 COUNTRIES NOW POSSESS OR ARE DEVELOPING WMD

"At least 25 countries now possess - or are in the process of acquiring and developing - capabilities to inflict mass casualties and destruction," said William Cohen, the current US defence secretary and former Republican senator, in a foreword to the Pentagon report.

"Our unrivalled supremacy in the conventional military arena is prompting adversaries to seek unconventional, asymmetric means to strike what they perceive as our achilles heel," Mr Cohen said.

He singled out North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Libya as countries whose missile-building programmes and attempts to acquire nuclear, chemical or biological weapons posed the most pressing threats to US and international security.

WMD DANGERS ARE MULTIPLYING AROUND THE WORLD

The Guardian (London) January 13, 2001 SECTION: Guardian Leader Pages, Pg. 21 HEADLINE: Leading article: Apocalypse tomorrow: The message: spend more on US defence //VT2002acsln

Despite these blindspots, the Pentagon report has to be taken very seriously on two counts. One is the light it sheds on the undoubted dangers posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction. It argues, for example, that North Korea, despite the thaw with the South, continues to deploy large, "offensively-oriented" forces along the common border, has the capacity to make at least one nuclear bomb, and is increasing its missile capabilities at a steady pace. Pyongyang, says the report, has also assembled a large stockpile of chemical precursors and chemical warfare agents. Iran, aided by North Korea and Russia, is said to be moving aggressively towards nuclear weapons and biological warfare capabilities; Sudan and Libya give rise to similar worries. When it comes to India and Pakistan, the report detects a "nuclear and missiles arms race . . . with consequences that are difficult to predict and (with) potential for spillover beyond the subcontinent". When the activities of freelance terrorist groups like that led by Osama bin Laden are factored in, all this adds up to what that report calls a daunting worldwide challenge.