"One cornerstone of nonproliferation agreements is the idea that there is a norm against the use of nuclear weapons, whether it is moral or military or whatever," said Chris Helman of the Center for Defense Information, a liberal Washington-based think tank.

"There is a widespread acceptance that they are unsuitable weapons, but as soon as they have a value, other people will have them," he added.

The Nuclear Posture Review, a secret report to Congress leaked by the US press, suggests the need for new nuclear trials "to meet the nation's defense goals in the 21st century."

It points to the potential use of US nuclear strikes against non-nuclear armed nations pursuing weapons of mass destruction, as well as former Cold War enemy Russia and China.

The United States must be prepared for potential national security contingencies involving non-nuclear armed neighbors "in setting requirements for nuclear strike capabilities," the review said.

Immediate contingencies could include an Iraqi attack on Israel or its neighbors, a North Korean attack on South Korea, or a military confrontation over the status of Taiwan, the report suggested.

Iran, Syria and Libya could also become immediate contingencies because of their "long standing hostility toward the United States and its security partners," it said.

The review also underscores the Pentagon's concern that a growing number of countries and hostile groups rely on deep underground facilities to hide their weaponry and command posts.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, at least 10,000 such bunkers currently exist in over 70 countries.

More than 1,400 of them are used as strategic storage sites for weapons of mass destruction, concealed launch pads for ballistic missiles as well as leadership or top echelon command and control posts, the DIA estimates.

"At present the United States lacks adequate means to deal with these strategic facilities," the review pointed out.

The answer, in the US military's view, lies in developing and testing a new generation of smaller but more effective nuclear weapons, capable of destroying these underground facilities.

"Today's nuclear arsenal continues to reflect its Cold War origin, characterized by moderate delivery accuracy, limited earth penetrator capability, high yield warheads, silo and sea based ballistic missiles with multiple independent reentry vehicles, and limited retargeting capability," the review said.

"New capabilities must be developed to defeat emerging threats such as hard and deeply buried targets ... to find and attack mobile and relocatable targets, to defeat chemical or biological agents, and to improve accuracy and limit collateral damage," it added.

Seeking to dispel some of the criticism leveled against Washington both at home and abroad with disclosure of the report, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday hailed the "good work" that went into producing it. He also insisted there was nothing earth-shattering contained within it.

"It has not caused any difficulties with Russia," he insisted in a Pentagon briefing. "The Russians had been briefed on it previously, as had our allies."

The United States has maintained a moratorium on nuclear tests since 1992, along with Britain, China, France and Russia, and has sought to reach agreement with Moscow over reducing the stockpile of nuclear weapons.

US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on Thursday told a US Senate subcommittee that a 10 million-dollar study was ongoing to see whether existing nuclear warheads could be modified to serve as bunker-busting armaments, for use possibly in conflicts similar to the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan.

The cave and tunnel complexes buried in the mountains of that central Asian country would be ideal targets for the burrowing weapons, Defense experts have suggested, as would the bunkers of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, whose regime is thought to be the next target of the Bush administration's anti-terror war.

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