THE CIA has launched a covert operation aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein and has been given express permission by the White House to capture the Iraqi leader and, if necessary, kill him.
According to a report in yesterday’s Washington Post which was partially confirmed by the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, President Bush signed an order earlier this year directing the CIA to use “all available tools” to overthrow the Iraq leadership.
These include the supply of money, weapons, equipment, training and intelligence information to Iraqi opposition groups; greater efforts to collect information from within the Iraqi government, especially its military and security services; and authorisation to deploy joint CIA and US Special Forces teams to take out specific targets.