THE US: The United States has no choice but to take action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, White House National Security Adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice has said.
But President Bush had not decided "how he wants to do it" or how to "make the case for particular methods", she said.
"We certainly do not have the luxury of doing nothing," Ms Rice, a pivotal player in Mr Bush's administration, told BBC radio.
"We believe the case for regime change is very powerful." Mr Bush has labelled Iraq part of an "axis of evil" intent on seeking weapons of mass destruction. Iraq denies the charges.
Ms Rice said President Saddam had twice come close to acquiring nuclear weapons.
"This is an evil man who, left to his own devices, will wreak havoc again on his own population, his neighbours and, if he gets weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them, on all of us," she said.
The Financial Times reported that the United States had launched a public bidding process for humanitarian relief organisations to work in Iraq and neighbouring areas as it prepares for a possible military strike.
The newspaper said it had obtained a document from the State Department inviting proposals for humanitarian aid projects in Iraq and for Iraqi refugees in surrounding countries.
A State Department spokesman in Washington said he had no information on the report.
Ms Rice also turned her fire on Iran - which along with North Korea completes Bush's "axis of evil" - saying its leaders were "on the side of the terrorist".
"Iran is a place where an unelected few are really crushing the aspirations of their people," she said. "Iran is not on the side of peace. Iran is on the side of the terrorist."
Meanwhile, Iraqi Vice President Mr Taha Yassin Ramadan said Iraq is ready to discuss the return of United Nations arms inspectors provided there are no prior conditions for talks.
He also told Abu Dhabi Television in an interview broadcast on Thursday that Baghdad was preparing for the "worst" in case Washington decided to launch fresh military strikes against its 1991 Gulf War foe.
"We do not believe dialogue . . . with the \ secretariat is over," he said in the pre-recorded interview. "We believe dialogue without preset decisions and intentions is the correct and only way to solve any problem." "Indeed another date for the next round [of talks\] has not been set due to US pressure but we say that this dialogue is still standing and necessary," he said in the interview.
US and British fighter jets have bombed targets in southern Iraq, wounding four civilians, the Iraqi Air Force Command has said. It said the planes struck civilian and service targets shortly before midnight on Wednesday in the provinces of Missan and al-Wassit. - (Reuters)