Former U.N. arms inspector Richard Butler said yesterday that Washington was promoting “shocking double standards” in considering taking unilateral military action to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Butler said, “The spectacle of the United States, armed with its weapons of mass destruction, acting without Security Council authority to invade a country in the heartland of Arabia and, if necessary, use its weapons of mass destruction to win that battle, is something that will so deeply violate any notion of fairness in this world that I strongly suspect it could set loose forces that we would deeply live to regret.” Richard Butler said Washington lacked credibility because of its failing to call for the disarming of countries such as Syria, which is suspected of possessing chemical or biological warfare capabilities. And U.S. allies Israel, Pakistan and India all have nuclear arsenals but have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The words of Richard Butler, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector, were particularly shocking considering his close working relationship with the United States.