Quayle Refuses to Rule Out U.S. Nuclear Attack

Vice President Dan Quayle refused Friday to rule out U.S. use of nuclear weapons in the Gulf War.

And he predicted that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would order chemical weapons used against allied coalition forces during their effort to free Kuwait of Iraqi troops.

After a morning meeting with British Defense Secretary Tom King, Quayle was asked about possible U.S. use of nuclear weapons against Iraq and replied: “I am not going to sit here and rule out any options that the President may or may not have to contemplate.”

The use of nuclear weapons, he said, is “always an option, an option you are not going to rule out.”

While President Bush has said that he has no plans to use nuclear weapons, the allied commander in Saudi Arabia, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, has said that the rules could change if the Iraqis use weapons of mass destruction first. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney also refused to rule out the nuclear option just a few days before the war began. British Prime Minister John Major has said that Britain would not use its nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear power, even in response to use of chemical weapons.

Iraq is believed to have been working on acquiring nuclear capability, but there are no reliable reports that it had achieved a workable nuclear weapon before allied air forces bombed its nuclear facilities. Allied military officials now say those facilities have been destroyed.

Speaking on a radio program after his meeting with King, the vice president, who was on a two-day visit here, said he thinks Hussein “probably will” eventually use chemical weapons in the Gulf War.

“He has used them in the past,” Quayle said. “He has said that he will, and Saddam Hussein has been consistent throughout this crisis. Our anticipation is that at some time, at his choosing, he will, unfortunately, use chemical weapons.”

He refused to say how the allies would respond to a poison gas attack but indicated that massive conventional retaliation would be likely.

“If in fact Saddam uses chemical weapons,” he declared, “one option is to overwhelm him with conventional weapons and not nuclear weapons.”

The vice president, who returned to Washington on Friday, denied that Iraq won a tactical victory in catching the allied troops off guard in their seizure of the eastern Saudi town of Khafji.

“The quickness with which we were able to turn back and recapture the city shows how well-prepared the allied forces were,” he said. “I would not characterize it as an error. Khafji is now back in our control. The victory of Khafji has been with the allied forces and not with Iraq.”

Quayle added: “When and if the land battle starts, I think people will see Khafji as a pretty pointless and extraordinarily expensive engagement for the Iraqis.”

The vice president said he is “exceedingly thankful” to the British for allowing the U.S. Air Force to use the British base at Fairford for the deployment of B-52 bombers against Iraq.