US tags Iran as biggest threat (AFP) Updated: 2006-03-16 16:26
Making no apologies for the war in Iraq, the United States reaffirmed a right
to preemptive military action and vowed to confront threats like North Korea and
especially Iran.
Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadineja. Making no apologies for the war in Iraq, the United
States reaffirmed a right to preemptive military action and vowed to
confront threats like North Korea and especially Iran.
[AFP] | "We may face no greater challenge from a
single country than from Iran," the White House said in a 49-page blueprint
called the "National Security Stategy" of the United States, a copy of which was
obtained by AFP.
North Korea "presents a long and bleak record of duplicity and bad-faith
negotiations" the document said, warning: "We will continue to take all
necessary measures to protect our national and economic security against the
adverse effects of their bad conduct."
The document made clear that Washington does not view the failure to find the
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) at the core of the public case for the 2003
invasion of Iraq as a blow against its strategy of preventive war.
"The place of preemption in our national security strategy remains the same,"
it said. "We do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur, even if
uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack."
US President George W. Bush had made former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's
alleged possession of chemical and biological weapons and pursuit of nuclear
arms the centerpiece of his case for war, but no such weapons have been found.
"There will always be some uncertainty" about banned weapons programs, the
White House said. "We have no doubt that the world is better of if tyrants know
that they pursue WMD at their own peril."
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