PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - President Bush  has decided to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and has ordered the Pentagon and other U.S.agencies to devise plans to remove him, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.

The newspaper said no military strike was imminent. But it quoted unnamed U.S.officials as saying Bush had decided that Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biologicalweapons programs pose too great a threat to U.S. national security for Saddam to remain.

"This is not an argument about whether to get rid of Saddam Hussein. That debate is over. This is how you do it," the Inquirer quoted a senior Bush administration official as saying.

The newspaper said the White House was determined to act even if U.S. allies do not help, and is now waiting for government agencies to come up with a combination of military, diplomatic and covert plans aimed at achieving Saddam's ouster.

Escalating U.S. rhetoric on Iraq has alarmed Russia and America's European allies in recent weeks, while causing concern among experts about the political and human costs of a lengthy U.S. military campaign in the Middle East.

But the Inquirer said the CIA recently presented Bush with a plan to destabilize Saddam's well-entrenched regime in Baghdad, through a massive covert action campaign, sabotage, information warfare and significantly more aggressive bombing of the so-called no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.

The president was reportedly enthusiastic, and although it could not be determined whether he gave final approval for the plan, the CIA has begun assigning officers to the task, the newspaper reported.

Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) is also expected to tell Middle East leaders about U.S. intentions to get rid of Saddam during a tour of 11 Middle Eastern nations next month, the Inquirer said.

"He's not going to beg for support," a senior official was quoted as saying. "He's going to inform them that the president's decision has been made and will be carried out, and if they want some input into how and when it's carried
out, now's the time for them to speak up."