"I think, very importantly, we must proceed with great speed and determination with the de-Baathification. We must uproot the Baath Party from the fabric of Iraqi society," Chalabi told BBC television's "Breakfast with Frost" program.

"This does not mean killing or humiliating or torturing or in any way demeaning individual Baathists," he said. "But they must come forward, say what they have, deliver what they have of government property."

"But it means also the destruction completely of the Baath Party organisation," he added.

Asked about US plans for an interim authority in Iraq, Chalabi -- perceived as the Pentagon's favorite to head a post-Saddam government in Baghdad -- said Iraqi opposition groups must be given "an important role" in deciding who should sit on any transitional administration.

"The leadership of the opposition that was elected ... must now be brought into the picture completely, consulted and play an important role in the choice of the Iraqi interim authority," he said.

"They represent political forces on the ground which are very important and which can make an important contribution to peace and security in Iraq."

Asked if he had ambitions to lead Iraq, which he left as a child 47 years ago, the former banker replied: "I am not a candidate for any political position in Iraq. My main focus is to go home and work on the restoration of civil society in Iraq."

The Baath Party, a fearsome organisation controlling every detail of life and often death in Iraq, ruled the oil-rich country for nearly 35 years.

It took power in Iraq in a 1968 coup. Saddam, who already wielded power from behind the scenes, became president and national party secretary general in 1979.

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