US President George W. Bush has no timetable for deciding whether to take military action against Iraq and he may not make any decision this year, a White House official said today.
"The president has said that he has not made up his mind about any particular decision that he may make and he has not set any timetable," said the White House official, who asked not to be named.
Mr Bush will "not necessarily" decide this year whether he will turn to the military to carry out the US policy of regime change, code for ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the official said.
The president is at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, for a four-week working vacation.
US allies and Arab governments have been urging the United States not to launch a strike against Iraq in an attempt to topple Saddam.
US officials say military contingency plans for a possible invasion of Iraq vary from using upward of 250,000 American troops and hundreds of aircraft launched from countries in the region to much smaller numbers of troops in hopes that Iraqi military support for Saddam would quickly crumble.