WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The White House warned Wednesday the United States was prepared to use all weapons in its arsenal, including nuclear devices, in retaliation for any attack with weapons of mass destruction on the country, U.S. military forces abroad or U.S. allies.
The threat was contained in a document called the "National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction," delivered to Capitol Hill on the first anniversary of President George W. Bush's speech at the Citadel, in which he ordered national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to produce an integrated strategy for countering the WMD threat and proliferation of such weapons.
"We will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes and terrorists to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons," the document said.
"The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force -- including through resort to all our options -- to the use of WMD against the United States, our forces abroad and friends and allies.
"In additional to our conventional and nuclear response and defense capabilities, our overall deterrent posture against WMD threats is reinforced by effective intelligence, surveillance, interdiction and domestic law enforcement capabilities," it said.
A senior administration official said the strategy and document make it clear "there is no more divide between domestic and international threats -- they are all one and the same."
The strategy, which includes gearing up operations for responding to any attack with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, also incorporates the president's strategy of pre-emptive attack.
"Because deterrence may not succeed, and because of the potentially devastating consequences of WMD use against our forces and civilian population, U.S. military forces and appropriate civilian agencies must have the capability to defend against WMD-armed adversaries, including in appropriate cases through preemptive measures," it said.
"This requires capabilities to detect and destroy an adversary's WMD assets before these weapons are used."
Release of the report coincided with U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq, which the United States and Britain say possesses WMD and which poses a unique and gathering threat to U.S. national security and world peace.
Bush has threatened to lead a military coalition to disarm Iraq of suspected WMD if the regime of Saddam Hussein fails to disarm voluntarily.
