US Predicts Up to 17 Million Casualties in South Asia Nuke War

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 01, 2002

US Predicts Up to 17 Million Casualties in South Asia Nuke War

Up to 17 million people would be killed or injured in the first weeks of an all-out nuclear war between India and Pakistan, a Pentagon official said on Friday.

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Up to 17 million people would be killed or injured in the first weeks of an all-out nuclear war between India and Pakistan, a Pentagon official said on Friday.

The figure is from a recently updated Defense Intelligence Agency estimate based on a worst-case scenario in which both sides unleash all their nuclear weapons, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The prediction does not include long-term deaths from radiation sickness, starvation, or even victims of fires that could burn long after the initial blasts.

In the worst case scenario, between nine million and 12 million people would die and another two million and five million would be injured in the short term, the official said.

"Long-term you would be talking about starvation, pollution of the water tables, birth defects, and all that other stuff," the official said.

U.S. officials said India had started working to prepare for loading conventional warheads on some of its medium range missiles which can also carry nuclear warheads, following a weekend of missile testing by Pakistan.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday he would be happy to provide intelligence on the consequences of a nuclear war to India and Pakistan during his trip to South Asia next week.

Having had nuclear weapons for more than 50 years, the United States has done "a lot of thinking" about the consequences of a nuclear war, Rumsfeld said.

"It's the millions and millions of people who live in those two countries who would be damaged by a conflict," he warned.

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