N-arms to be used if US comes under biological attack’

If we can prove that a biological attack originated in a country that attacked us, then all bets are off, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. –Photo by AFP

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the United States could not rule out using nuclear weapons if it came under biological attack, saying in that case “all bets are off.”

Both Mrs Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates said in joint television interviews that Iran and North Korea represented exceptions to the limits on a US nuclear response, as both had defied UN resolutions on their atomic programmes.

“We leave ourselves a lot of room for contingencies,” Mrs Clinton said.

“If we can prove that a biological attack originated in a country that attacked us, then all bets are off,” she said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Mrs Clinton was referring to a new US nuclear policy unveiled last week that restricted the use of atomic weapons against non-nuclear states that complied with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Asked why Iran and North Korea were considered exceptions, Mr Gates said: “Well, because they’re not in compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. So for them, all bets are off. All the options are on table.”

Mrs Clinton and Mr Gates said a new arms control deal with Russia and the revised nuclear policy would bolster President Barack Obama’s diplomatic leverage as he sought to isolate Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programmes.

Both cabinet officers rejected criticism from some Republicans in Congress that Mr Obama’s approach had sent a signal of weakness, and that cuts to the nuclear arms stockpile undermined US “deterrence”. “We have still a very powerful nuclear arsenal,” Mr Gates told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” —AFP

Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/narms-to-be-used-if-us-comes-under-biological-attack-240