Posted on 09/02/2002 7:03:13 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Former Reagan Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger warned Sunday that waiting too long before taking action against Iraq could leave Saddam Hussein in a position to blackmail the U.S. and its allies in the Mideast with nuclear weapons.
"Once he's got these weapons, then he can practice nuclear blackmail," Weinberger told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg. "Time is not on our side. We gain nothing by waiting."
"The fact that action (against Iraq) may have to come before there's been a thousand percent guaranteed certain set of proofs that (Saddam) helped the al Qaeda, if you don't take that action you're going to find out some morning that it's too late," the Reagan defense chief added.
Weinberger also warned against those urging the U.S. to wait for the United Nations to approve any Iraq attack.
"Some people will counsel anything that ends up in delay or inaction," he said, citing German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac as among those who want full U.N. consultation.
"The U.N. is not equipped to fight a war," Weinberger explained. "With the rules of unanimity over there, you're not going to get to take any effective action.
"So what you're doing is giving Saddam Hussein more time, more delay, to develop these weapons. When he gets them these nations will, of course, be among the first to urge us to go after him. And then it's a little bit late."
Listen to WABC's Steve Malzberg on "The Buzz" with Richard Bey, weekdays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET; and solo, Sundays 9 a.m. to 12 noon ET, 770 on the AM dial.
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