Topeka ? U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts on Wednesday said the United States should not go to war against Saddam Hussein now, but added if President Bush believed Saddam posed an immediate threat to U.S. interests, he had no choice but to take action.

Roberts, R-Kan. and a member of the Senate armed services and intelligence committees, played down the Bush administration’s signaling that war was inevitable.

As late as Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney warned the United States must not delay in trying to oust Saddam, but many in Congress are urging Bush to proceed cautiously.

“At this juncture, I do not think the president has any war plans on his desk,” Roberts said at a Statehouse news conference. “He is a patient man. He wants regime change.”

Roberts said national leaders were trying to form new strategies to protect U.S. interests in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and the war on terrorism.

They must decide whether to take pre-emptive action against rogue states or wait for a clearer threat that will provide justification for taking action.

“This isn’t easy stuff. The rules of engagement have changed,” he said.

He said a decision on what to do with Iraq would rely on intelligence sources, and while the government is adept at gathering intelligence, it still must improve in analyzing that material.

Roberts listed many reasons not to attack now.

l He said the Bush administration must decide how it would try to oust Saddam, what role the United States would play in forming the next government in Iraq, and how many troops could be committed to the operation now that the military is engaged in Afghanistan.

“We are stretched too thin. From a military standpoint, we are probably not ready,” he said.

l The United States must pick up the backing of key allies, something the Bush administration hasn’t been able to do.

l Congress must be brought into any plan.

But Roberts also said that if Bush decided an imminent threat existed from Iraq, the president must be given leeway to act.

Roberts also said he cooperated with an FBI investigation into leaks about Sept. 11 intelligence reports that had been given to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But he denounced the agency’s probe because the committee has been investigating the FBI’s handling of intelligence data prior to the terrorist attack.

“I would not have had an investigation led by the FBI. This is silly. You’ve got the Intelligence Committee investigating the FBI and the FBI investigating the Intelligence Committee. That does not auger well for any kind of common sense,” he said.

Roberts said he was interviewed by an FBI agent and volunteered to take a polygraph test, but it wasn’t requested of him.