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T V Parasuram in Washington
US President George W Bush has signed on to a "super secret finding" that authorises preparations for action against Iraq, according to a report.
Objective monitors are convinced that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons and is working feverishly to build a nuclear bomb, the Time magazine said.
As Bush repeatedly telegraphs his intention to finish Saddam, the Iraqi leader is not exactly sitting on his hands, it said.
There are signs that Saddam is bracing for an attack: beefing up his personal security, bucking up the ruling Baath Party and repositioning his military. Both Washington and Baghdad foresee confrontation, Time said.
The US appears ready to "do whatever it takes" to get rid of Saddam once and for all, it said.
"But," Time said, "while there is plenty of will, there still is no clearly successful way to move against Saddam."
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that the US wanted a regime change in Iraq regardless of whether or not Saddam allowed UN weapon inspectors to return to the country.
The US "reserves its options to do whatever it believes might be proper to see if there can be a regime change" in Iraq regardless of whether the UN weapons inspectors return or not, Powell said on ABC TV.
The weapons inspection issue, he said, was a separate one under a UN Security Council resolution.
PTI
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