Strasbourg, 12/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - Francis Wurtz, President of the European United Left/Nordic Left Group of the European Parliament, requested on Monday evening, in plenary, that the Commission, Council and Parliament should give their views during this plenary session on a very serious matter - the Pentagon's "secret plan" to authorise the use of nuclear weapons against the "axis of evil considerably and conveniently enlarged to countries like China and Russia". "This is a strategic and irresponsible turn without precedent since Hiroshima", exclaimed Mr Wurtz, who believes the EU cannot remain "without giving a reaction at the level required, a very firm reaction, to this totally unacceptable slide on the part of the world's leading military power". This point may be raised on Wednesday morning, during the debate that will follow the declarations by Council and Commission on transatlantic relations, said Parliament's President Pat Cox.
The Pentagon pointed out that the Nuclear Posture Review, required by law, is a "wide-ranging analysis of the requirements for deterrence in the 21st century". This review is the last of a long series of reviews since the development of nuclear weapons. "It does not provide operational guidance on nuclear targeting or planning", said General Richard Myers, US Joint Chief of Staff, during a CNN interview. He went on to say it is not an operational plan, but rather a policy paper.