Bush to use ‘all available tools’ against Saddam

The US President, Mr George W Bush has opened the possibility of military action against Iraq, saying the US would use all tools available to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Mr Bush reiterated official US policy aimed at ending Saddam's rule in Iraq. "It's a stated policy of this government to have regime change. And it hasn't changed," Mr Bush said. "And we'll use all tools at our disposal to do so."

It's a stated policy of this government to have regime change [in Iraq]. And it hasn't changed US President George W Bush

He said he was involved in all aspects of planning Iraq policy. "I'm involved in the military planning, diplomatic planning, financial planning, all aspects of reviewing all the tools at my disposal."

Expectations that Mr Bush would order an attack on Iraq to oust its leader, accused of developing biological and chemical weapons, have risen this year after Mr Bush described Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, as belonging to an "axis of evil."

Several European governments have been concerned about any US military action to oust Saddam, a concern made more acute by a breakdown in talks last week to put United Nations weapons inspectors back in Iraq.

Mr Bush declined to comment on a New York Timesreport last week that a draft military plan for an invasion of Iraq envisioned a multi-pronged attack with tens of thousands of US Marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait.

"Listen, I recognize there's speculation out there, but people shouldn't speculate about the desire of the government to have a regime change," he said. "And there's different ways to do it."

Mr Bush also dismissed as "hypothetical" a question on whether he wanted Saddam removed before the end of his four-year term as president, which expires in January 2005.

The US said yesterday that the failure of talks between Iraq and the United Nations last week showed that Washington was right to suspect that Iraq is working on weapons of mass destruction.

"The fact that Iraq once again failed to take advantage of this opportunity ... to come clean for the world, I think would have to indicate suspicions about what they're up to," State Department spokesman Mr Richard Boucher told a daily briefing.