Washington, Sept 30: The Pentagon is preparing a campaign to deter Iraqi officers from firing chemical or biological weapons during a us invasion, the Washington Post reported today. US defence and intelligence officials believe President Saddam Hussein has given field commanders conditional authority to use the weapons in the event of an attack.
Final authority to use the weapons rests with Saddam, but the Iraqi President's knowledge that the united states would seek to take down Iraqi command centers and communications systems at the start of any military strike means he probably has already given authority for firing chemical and biological weapons to his most loyal commanders in the field, the post reported.
One of the biggest challenges US military planners face is determining which Iraqi military units can be encouraged to defect in event of a us invasion and how to communicate with them, defence officials told the Post.
US officials told the daily that the efforts to reach the Iraqi officers might include massive leafleting of Iraqi military positions.
Bureau Report