The Bush administration is reportedly considering a new approach to its planned campaign against Iraq that involves taking Baghdad first.
Senior Department of Defence officials told the New York Timesthe strategy would capitalise on the US military's ability to strike over long distances.
It is hoped the "inside-out" tactic, which also involves seizing one or two key command centres and weapons depots, would lead to the rapid collapse of Saddam Hussein's government.
Officials say Iraq's power structure is highly centralised and authoritarian and, by striking Baghdad first, US planners hope to pre-empt orders to put weapons of mass destruction in the field.
But no formal plan has yet been presented to President Bush or the senior members of his national security team, they said.
AP