President George W Bush has renewed American pressure on the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to allow UN inspectors back into his country to monitor whether he's building weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Bush said the UN needed to find out if Iraq was still developing weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush's remarks are likely to keep alive speculation that Iraq could be the next target in his war against terrorism.

Questioned by journalists over what America would do if Iraq did not allow inspectors back, Mr Bush replied that Saddam Hussein would find out.

Russian influence

The signs are that the administration has not yet made up its mind.

It is no secret that there are some influential hawks who want action to topple Saddam Hussein from power - regardless of whether he is implicated in the attacks of 11 September.

But for the moment, policy in the Middle East is in the hands of Colin Powell, the US secretary of state - and Mr Powell is well aware that precipitate action on Iraq would damage his already slim prospects for reviving the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Another complication is that the administration is not anxious to pick a quarrel with Russia, which favours a more lenient approach to Iraq.

Russia has so far blocked efforts by the US and Britain to change the focus of UN sanctions against Iraq so as to increase their impact on the regime and reduce the suffering of Iraqi civilians.

To keep the Russians sweet, the existing sanctions regime is likely to be extended for a further six months when the current phase runs out on Friday.

In the meantime, it looks as if the Bush administration is trying to keep up the psychological pressure on Saddam Hussein while it works out what its longer-term policy should be.