Letter to LATimes
January 28, 2003
Arkin reports that the Bush administration is considering attacking Iraqi facilities located so deep underground that
they might be impervious to conventional explosives.
Putting aside the exceedingly dangerous consequences the use of a nuclear weapon would bring about in terms of
destroying nonproliferation and arms control efforts, it should be pointed out that the use of a nuclear weapon might
not achieve its goal.
Several independent scientists have noted that success would depend on a number of factors and that there may be
unintended consequences.
For example, if a defender blocks off portions of the facility with heavy, insulating walls, agents beyond those walls
are unlikely to be neutralized. For poorly designed underground facilities in soft rock or earth, damage may extend
beyond the rupture zone, even though the fireball does not extend that far; in such cases live agents may be released
into the atmosphere.
David Isenberg Senior Analyst British American Security Information Council Washington