The CIA has launched a covert operation aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein and has been given express permission by the White House to capture the Iraqi leader and, if necessary, kill him.
According to a report in yesterday's Washington Post, which was partially confirmed by the Senate majority leader, Tom Diastole, President George Bush signed an order earlier this year directing the CIA to use "all available tools" to overthrow the Iraq leadership.
These include the supply of money, weapons, equipment, training and intelligence information to Iraqi opposition groups; greater efforts to collect information from within the Iraqi government, especially its military and security services; and authorisation to deploy special forces teams to take out specific targets.
News of the order comes amid reports from defectors that President Saddam has reactivated weapons of mass destruction programmes. It demonstrates that the Bush administration has already put money and resources into realising its controversial "regime change" policy, which has run into resistance from allies such as Britain.
But according to the Post article, by Bob Woodward, the CIA director, George Tenet, has told the President he thinks the Iraqi operation has only a 10 to 20 per cent chance of success without accompanying military action and economic and diplomatic pressure.
There are concerns, too, about how widely the CIA is stretched already in the "war on terrorism". Some analysts cited by the Post believe the covert operation will be most useful in laying groundwork for military action, which is not expected before the end of this year.
Mr Bush, in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks, lifted a 25-year ban on covert assassinations. The order authorises the CIA and Special Forces teams to kill President Saddam "in self-defence".
The report is likely to alarm governments and public opinion in the Middle East, where strong opposition to the prospect of an armed invasion has already been voiced.
- INDEPENDENT
Bush 'has authorised CIA to kill Saddam'
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