Washington: United States has said it could go to any extent to achieve its aim of regime change in Iraq, including the assassination of Saddam Hussein or his exile.

The US would welcome regime change in Iraq without an attack, "in whatever form it takes", including assassination of Saddam by the Iraqi people or exile, White House Press Secretry Arie Fleischer said on October 1.

Talking to reporters, he said, "the cost of one bullet" to take out Saddam would achieve the US goal of regime change more quickly and cheaply than an American attack.

"I can only say that the cost of a one-way ticket is substantially less than that. The cost of one bullet, if the Iraqi people take it on themselves, is substantially less than that. The cost of war is more than that," he added.

Fleischer noted that several other options, including exile, are less expensive than war, which Congress estimates would cost as much as $ 13 billion just to begin and which the White House thinks could go as high as $ 200 billion at a time when the US economy was facing a downturn.

However, he said, Saddam's assassination should be carried out by the Iraqis themselves.

"But there are many options that the President (Bush) hopes the world and people of Iraq will exercise themselves. Never underestimate the yearning of people to stop being tortured, to stop being suppressed," he said.