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Chirac Reaffirms Policy of Permanent Nuclear Deterrence
French President Jacques Chirac Friday reaffirmed the permanence of nuclear deterrence, saying that it is an adequate response to threats that might come from regional powers equipped with arms of massive destruction.
"The deterrence allows us to face up to threats to vital interest that regional powers with arms of massive destruction might pose against us," said Chirac in a speech given to the Institute for Higher Defense Studies.
He also said certain states within these regional powers are developing "ballistic capacity that will one day give them ways to threaten the European territory with nuclear, biological and chemical arms."
"If leaders (of these states) are animated with hostile intentions towards us, they should know that they are in turn exposed to damage that will be unacceptable to themselves," the French president added.
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