Lawyers working for Mr George W. Bush have concluded he does not need additional congressional approval to order military action against Iraq.
White House officials say they have cited a congressional resolution authorising the use of force in the 1991 Gulf War and last year’s September 14th resolution that gives the government authority to use force against perpetrators of terrorist acts.
But White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan said: "The president will consider a variety of legal, policy, and historical issues if this becomes a relevant matter. He will confer with Congress, and Congress has an important role to play".
The legal finding comes amid intensifying debate among prominent Republicans over whether the United States should attack Iraq.
Former secretary of state Mr James Baker, who served under Mr Bush's father, urged the White House to seek approval from allies before using military force to depose Saddam.
"Although the United States could certainly succeed, we should try our best not to have to go it alone, and the president should reject the advice of those who counsel doing so," Mr Baker wrote in the New York Times.
He said the costs of such a war would be "much greater," as would political risks both at home and abroad "if we end up going it alone or with only one or two other countries".
Arguing that the only realistic way to oust Saddam was through massive use of military force, including the occupation of Baghdad and installation of a new government, Mr Baker also said more casualties than in the Gulf War would be likely as a result of such action.
The New York Timeshas reported today that Saddam will most likely try to tie up US forces in urban warfare, if the Bush administration moves to topple his government.
The report, which cites unnamed Pentagon officials and former US government experts, said Iraqi forces had already begun digging defensive positions for military equipment around Baghdad.
- The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallupopinion poll shows public support for a US ground invasion of Iraq slipped from 74 per cent in November to 53 per cent last week. Only 20 per cent of those surveyed favoured sending troops to topple Saddam without allied support.
AFP