JERUSALEM Ñ Israel's military has projected that Iraq could launch nonconventional missile strikes should President Saddam Hussein feel his regime is endangered by the United States.
The threat of an Iraqi attack has led to a revision of Israeli combat
doctrine, the sources said. They said Israel has upgraded its early-warning alert of any Iraqi attack despite U.S. pledges to supply
such a warning.
In all, the sources said, Israel cannot expect advance warning of more
than eight hours of any U.S. attack on Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. They said this will demand
increase satellite reconnaissance and intelligence operations to determine
Iraqi military movements.
Military sources said the Israeli intelligence estimate is that Iraq
could use medium-range missiles with biological or chemical warheads against
Israel amid any U.S.-led war against Baghdad. The sources said the
intelligence estimate has concluded that Iraq has several dozen
extended-range Scud B missiles capable of reaching the Jewish state.
The prospect of an Iraqi WMD strike against Israel is not certain, the
sources said. They said the prospect depends on whether he feels any chance
of surviving a U.S. attack and Iraqi capability.
"Iraq has apparently production capability of biological weapons and
chemical," Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said. "We can't allow these weapons
to be left in the hands of one man."
In that case, the sources said, Saddam could try to fire missiles or
place weapons with biological weapons meant to destroy wide areas of Israel.
This could include the use of anthrax, VX or lethal strains of virus.
Already, the sources said, Israeli authorities have been stockpiling
vaccinations against smallpox.
The Israeli estimate asserts that Iraq could use Palestinian
insurgents to launch a nonconventional weapons attack on Israeli facilities.
Military intelligence believes that Iraq has been training Palestinians to
assemble such weapons and designate targets in Israel should the United
States strike the Saddam regime.
[In London, the Times daily reported that the British government has
assessed that Saddam plans to provide biological weapons for attacks against
American or Israeli targets. The newspaper said Saddam is trying to develop
a range of biological agents that can be launched via an aerosol system.]
[On Sunday morning, an Israeli passenger bus blew up near the northern
city of Safed. Initial reports said at least six people were killed and 20
were injured.]
