Iraq's army weaker than before Gulf War, Joint Chiefs boss says

WASHINGTON -- Iraq's military is much weaker and less capable today than the force that confronted a U.S.-led coalition a decade ago in the Persian Gulf War, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday.

At the same time, however, Gen. Richard Myers and other Bush administration officials said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is exploring ways to use chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons to terrorize his neighbors or hit targets in the United States.

Myers, an Air Force general, attributed some of the erosion of Saddam's forces to U.N.-sponsored sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and then refused U.N. demands to get out.

Operation Desert Storm, a six-week air war capped by a four-day ground assault by troops of more than 30 nations, drove the Iraqis from Kuwait the following February.

"We think their capabilities today are much less than were during Desert Storm," Myers said. "On the other hand, the U.S. armed forces and the armed forces of our friends and allies are much stronger. ... The only thing I would say is that if the president decides that military action is needed against Iraq, the U.S. armed forces and our allies will prevail."

Nevertheless, he said, Iraq's weapons of mass destruction remain a worry.

"I think it goes back to the whole intent issue," Myers said on ABC's "This Week."

"One of the things we learned from Sept. 11 was that the intent of the terrorists, and those who would supply them with weapons of mass destruction, is very, very clear: to wipe out our way of life, our friends and allies, innocents. And so, when you put that intent with capabilities, such as Iraq has, in chemical, biological and (its) quest for nuclear weapons, then you have to be very concerned."

The delivery system, he said, could be as basic as sending weapons to the United States or elsewhere with a courier trained in detonating them. The Iraqis also have been working for 20 years to develop pilotless aircraft modified for spraying chemical or biological agents.