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Iraq War Talk Hots Up
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
By Roy Eccleston, Dennis Shanahan, & Christopher Niesche
The Australian

"There's no doubt, on the evidence, on the intelligence material available to us, that not only does Iraq possess chemical and biological weapons, but Iraq also has not abandoned her nuclear aspirations. The question of how far she is from achieving that aspiration -- I can't tell you, and perhaps nobody can, but nothing can alter the fact that she is seeking it."

THE US could win a war against Iraq without "that tough a fight," Vice-President Dick Cheney claimed as the Bush administration made clear it was ready to strike unless the United Nations acted quickly and forcefully.

Mr. Cheney said yesterday the U.S. was "trying very hard not to be unilateralist", but reserved the right to act with military force "if we have reason to believe someone is preparing an attack against the US, has developed that capability, harbours those aspirations."

Whether the U.S. went to war against Saddam Hussein "will depend on what happens over the course of these next few weeks", he said as senior Bush administration officials deluged the American television networks with urgent warnings of the dangers posed by Iraq.

While some former U.S. generals have warned that defeating Iraq would be no "cakewalk" -- because of difficult urban warfare and the possible use by Mr Hussein of chemical or biological weapons -- Mr. Cheney appeared dismissive of the risk of serious resistance.

If President George W. Bush ordered an attack, "the U.S. military would be enormously effective in these circumstances, and I don't think it would be that tough a fight," he said.
(More: News Interactive News Source)
2002 © The Australian.

Dan