"We don't know what Saddam Hussein's fate is," Fleischer told reporters, but he added: "Certainly we want to make certain that those who are responsible for war crimes are brought to justice."

"So no matter what the period of time is, if there are people who emerge alive, no matter where they are, if a determination is made that that individual is a war criminal, that's a matter for the international community to take up, as they have done before," said Fleischer.

He did not rule out the possibility that some of the war criminals could be killed in combat. "It all depends on the course of events on the ground," he said, noting that the war was still ongoing.

Officials have indicated in recent days that the United States plans to prosecute war criminals in US courts.

The United States has drawn up a list of the 55 most wanted Iraqi officials, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks said at the war command headquarters in Qatar, holding up a deck of cards.

The US Central Command did not immediately say who was on the list, but the top card in the deck Brooks displayed was an ace of clubs, featuring a photograph of Saddam's younger son Qusay.

Long considered Saddam's heir apparent, Qusay, 36, is number two in the Baath Party and controls most of Iraq's military, security and intelligence units.

Brooks declined to say on which card Saddam's photograph appeared, and he laughed when asked if the joker was information minister Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf, who denied that US forces were anywhere near Baghdad even as their tanks rumbled through the capital.

Last week, the administration of US President George W. Bush said that at least six Iraqi officials -- including Saddam -- could be proven to be war criminals for having ordered torture, massacres and chemical attacks, and declared that they would be tried in court if found alive.

SPACE.WIRE