IRAQ:Iraqi officials backed away yesterday from suggestions they would hang Saddam Hussein within a month, amid speculation the government is divided over the issue.
Meanwhile, President George Bush said he was making "good progress" in forming a new Iraq strategy at a meeting with top advisers at his Texas ranch.
"Success in Iraq is vital for our own security," Mr Bush told reporters after meeting vice-president Dick Cheney, defence secretary Robert Gates, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and other officials. He said he was "making good progress toward coming up with a plan that we think will help us achieve our objectives. As I think about this plan, I always have our troops in mind."
The sentencing of Saddam on November 5th for crimes against humanity by a US-sponsored Iraqi court was hailed by the Bush administration as a vindication of the 2003 invasion and proof of Iraqi democracy. But two senior officials said the execution would only happen within 30 days if Iraq's president issued a decree.
If he does not, the justice ministry can carry out the sentence any day it chooses.