Iraq has 50 medium-range Hussein missiles

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Iraq has 50 Al Hussein medium-range missiles capable of striking Israel, a senior Israeli official said.

Uzi Rubin, a member of the National Security Council and former head of Israel's Homa anti-missile defense program, told the Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences on Thursday, that the regime of President Saddam Hussein has managed to conceal 50 Al Hussein missiles, an Iraqi development of the Scud B missiles. The Al Hussein has a range of more than 400 kilometers and 42 of them were fired toward Israel during the 1991 Gulf war.

Iraq can deploy the Al Hussein missiles on short notice, Rubin said. He pointed to the absence of United Nations inspectors to supervise Iraq's ballistic missile and nonconventional weapons programs.

"If the Iraqis are not deprived and there isn't an effective inspection regime, Iraq can turn into the most serious threat to Israel," Rubin said after an address at the Technion. "Syria has the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles but Syria, how can I say it, is now engaged in the peace process."

The assertion by the Israeli official reflected what defense sources said is heightened concern over the failure of the UN to resume inspections since December 1998.

Rubin said Iraq's defense industry is developing ground-to-ground missiles of a range of 150 kilometers, the ceiling set by the United Nations. But he said the minute sanctions are lifted Baghdad will resume developing missiles with a much larger range.

"They are keeping their engineering staff busy with development of missiles that is purportedly short-range," Rubin said. "The minute the inspections are lifted these short-range missiles will turn into long-range missiles," he said.

At that point, Rubin said, Iraq will comprise the greatest threat to the Jewish state.

Rubin said Syria has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East. But he played down the Syrian threat, pointing to the U.S-mediated efforts to reach a peace settlement.

Israel is preparing to begin what officials term emergency deployment of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile defense program later this year.