Bush: Nuclear Weapons Are an Option

US President George W Bush said on Wednesday his administration has "all options on the table" as the Pentagon reworks its nuclear weapons policy to deter any attack on America - including from non-nuclear states such as Iraq and Iran.

The US nuclear arsenal is "a way to say to people who would harm America: 'Don't do it,"' Bush said.

"We've got all options on the table because we want to make it very clear to nations that you will not threaten the United States or use weapons of mass destruction against us or our allies or friends."

In a 45-minute news conference, Bush spoke bluntly of Iraq's Saddam Hussein: "He is a problem and we're going to deal with him."

However, even as US troops scoured caves in Afghanistan for terrorists and Taliban fighters, Bush played down the importance of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden.

Russia and other US partners in the war against terrorism were alarmed when news leaks disclosed last weekend that the Pentagon was at work on a new policy, that could lower the threshold for use of US nuclear weapons and possibly target low-yield nuclear bombs against states such as China, Russia, Libya or Syria.

When it comes to America's enemies, "We're not out to seek revenge - only justice", Bush said.

The United States' nuclear weapons policy should also convey the nation's seriousness in the anti-terror war, Bush added.

"If the United States were to waver, some in the world would take a nap when it comes to the war on terror and we're just not going to let them do that."

By turns, Bush flashed anger and humor as he fielded questions on more than a dozen topics.

He said he could "barely get my coffee down" when he read of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's belated dispatch of student visa approvals for two of the terrorists who slammed hijacked jets into the World Trade Center on September 11.

Bush said he learned through news reports that the visa notices were delivered to a Florida flight school on Monday, exactly six months after the attacks. "I was stunned and not happy. ... I was plenty hot."

He called the episode a "wake-up call for people who run the INS," an agency he said "needs to be reformed."

On the Middle East, where attacks and retaliation have increased, Bush offered his most direct criticism yet of crackdowns on Palestinians by Ariel Sharon's government.

"Frankly, it is not helpful what the Israelis have recently done," Bush said. "I understand somebody trying to defend themselves ... but the recent actions are not helpful."

He urged both Israelis and Palestinians to "work hard to create conditions for a potential settlement" when US mediator Anthony Zinni returns to the region on Thursday.

With Vice President Dick Cheney in the region this week trying to rally Arab support for a tougher stance against Iraq, Bush said, "One of the things I've said to our friends is that we will consult. ... In regard to Iraq, we're doing just that."

On bin Laden, whose whereabouts are a nagging frustration to the White House, Bush said:

"Deep in my heart I know the man's on the run - if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not? We haven't heard from him in a long time. The idea of focusing on one person really indicates to me that people don't understand the scope of the mission. Terrorism is bigger than one person and he's a person who's now been marginalized."

The president added, "I don't know where he is. I just don't spend that much time on it. ... I can assure you I am not going to blink."

Bush, who travels to Moscow in late May for another round of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he would go along with Russian demands for a written agreement to codify expected arms reductions. Bush said he now agrees with Putin "that there needs to be a document that outlives both of us."

In an opening statement, Bush scored the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, which is poised for a Thursday vote rejecting his nominee for the federal appeals court, conservative District Court Judge Charles Pickering. Partisan delays on his judicial nominees have created a "vacancy crisis" in the judicial branch, Bush said.

"Too often judicial confirmations are being turned into ideological battles that delay justice and hurt our democracy," he said.

The president defended his administration's refusal to give congressional investigators records of Cheney's energy task force consultations with energy company executives who contributed to the Bush campaign - including embattled Enron officials.

"I'm not going to let Congress erode the power of the executive branch. We're not going to give them to 'em. These are privileged conversations," Bush said.

On a day when he spent several hours with Irish and Irish-American leaders celebrating an early St. Patrick's holiday, Bush was asked about the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic church.

"I know many in the hierarchy in the Catholic Church. I know them to be men of decency. ... I'm confident the church will clean up its business," said Bush, who has assiduously courted Catholic support since becoming president.

After decades of allegations in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law recently gave prosecutors the names of at least 80 priests accused of sexually abusing children.

(China Daily March 14, 2002)