ABSTRACT
There is another aspect of US resources and capabilities that deserves special attention in dealing with future contingencies in the Gulf. Both Iran and Iraq have actively sought and acquired biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. Both have obtained long-range missiles, and both used chemical weapons against each other in the Iran-Iraq War. While the UN victory in the Gulf War has severely limited Iraq's biological and chemical warfare capabilities, it has not affected Iran's programs. The US also must face the long-term prospect of Iraq recovering its capability to use weapons of mass destruction in a post-sanctions environment, and the risk that both Iran and Iraq will become nuclear powers and/or acquire biological weapons with the lethality of nuclear weapons.
