Bush Reiterates: We Want Saddam Out

But President Says There's No Concrete Plan In Play

(CBS)  In a wide-ranging press conference, President Bush vowed to “use all the tools at our disposal” to bring down President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

Describing himself as a patient person, Bush said Monday at the White House “the world would be safer, more peaceful if there is a regime change” in Iraq.

Plans to oust Saddam - with the cooperation of other Arab governments - are known to be under consideration. However, Bush said reports last week of a blueprint for a major assault were only speculation.

But he said “it is the stated policy of this government to have a regime change and we use all the tools at our disposal to do so.”

Earlier, the State Department demanded Iraq “come clean” on its weapons programs and confirmed it was conferring with Middle East governments on the threat it said Iraq posed to its neighbors and the world.

“It's a major concern,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said as the administration turned up the rhetorical heat on the Iraqi president.

The rhetoric at the State Department followed the failure of the United Nations last week to convince Iraq to permit the return of U.N. weapons inspectors after a 3 1/2-year lapse.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the Iraqis needed to consult with officials in Baghdad and no date was set for another round of talks.

Boucher said he would not speculate about a possible attack on Iraq. He then raked the Baghdad government for failing to “come clean for the world” and open suspect sites to the United Nations.

The State Department on Tuesday will host a meeting of groups seeking to overthrow Saddam. Another meeting will be held soon in London.

So far, these opposition groups have failed to make a dent in Saddam's rule. And neither has a succession of U.S. presidents and secretaries of state and defense.