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U. S. prepared for action: Rumsfeld

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

New York Nov. 16. In the event of a military showdown with Iraq, the United States would move to "finish it fast''; and the use of force against Iraq will not be World War Three, says the U.S. Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. "In the event that it becomes necessary, the United States would do it in a manner that would be respectful of human life on all sides, but would be determined to do the job and to finish it fast'', Mr. Rumsfeld has said in a radio interview.

The Defence Secretary who is generally seen as one of the chief hawks in the Bush administration took note of the fact that in the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi forces collapsed quickly under the weight of the coalition assault led by the United States. "The Gulf war lasted five days. I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days or five weeks or five months. But it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that'', Mr. Rumsfeld argued. Stressing that the United States and other coalition forces would have to be "prepared for the worst'' in the event of Saddam Hussein going back on compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution, Mr. Rumsfeld also made the point that "the U.S. military is vastly more powerful and the Iraqi military capability has declined substantially''.

Mr. Rumsfeld did not respond to a question if the U.S. would respond with nuclear weapons if Iraq resorted to the use of chemical and biological weapons. But he warned Iraq on any use of weapons of mass destruction. "We are communicating with people in that regime the truth. And the truth is that anyone who is connected with weapons of mass destruction and their use in the event of a conflict would be held accountable '', Mr. Rumsfeld maintained.

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