US might have to fight two wars

ONE might call it the disaster scenario. The US goes to war with Iraq to rid Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-il launches an attack on South Korea, forcing America simultaneously to wage two major wars.

And all this takes place even as US armed forces continue the military operation in Afghanistan launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed confidence that the US military would be more than up to the task of winning two such big regional wars at the same time, while continuing to pursue the war on terrorism.