Saddam Hussein has given field-level commanders the authority to use chemical weapons on their own initiative, without any further directives from the Iraqi leadership, Pentagon officials said tonight.

AFTER months of displaying business-as-usual calm even as legions of US troops assembled within striking distance of Iraq, Baghdad residents showed signs of panic yesterday at the prospect of an imminent US invasion and the lawlessness that it may spark.

The Bush administration is considering an Israeli proposal to send US special forces into Iraq’s western desert to knock out Iraqi missile sites in the event of war, a US official said.

The Pentagon believes February will be the best time to launch a war against Iraq and expect defecting Iraqi units to help topple Saddam Hussein, it was reported today.

The first US pilot shot down in the Gulf War is still alive and being held captive in Iraq, it is reported today.