Washington ? The United States has not yet decided to go to war against Iraq, but the Bush administration is laying the groundwork for prosecuting Saddam Hussein and what it calls a “dirty dozen” of other officials for genocide, “ethnic cleansing,” mass executions, rape and other crimes against humanity.

The list of Iraqis wanted for war crimes is a telling reflection of how the Iraqi leader rules: Half of the dozen are members of Saddam’s family, including two sons, three half-brothers and a cousin.

After Saddam, the next name on the list is Ali Hassan Majid, nicknamed “Chemical Ali” for his role in a 1988 operation-code-named Al Anfal, or “the spoils” that used chemical weapons to kill tens of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq. Majid, a cousin of the Iraqi president, also was responsible for putting down 1991 uprisings by northern Kurds and southern Shiites after the first Bush administration called for Iraqis to oust Saddam.

At least 130,000 civilians have been killed as a result of deliberate regime policies during Saddam’s 23-year rule, although that might prove to be only a fraction of the final tally, according to U.S. officials and human rights groups. Tens of thousands, including women, children and the elderly, were victims of chemical weapons attacks.

In a massive ethnic cleansing campaign, more than 120,000 Iraqis primarily Kurds, Turkomans and Assyrians, none of whom is an Arab have been expelled forcibly from the area around the northern city of Kirkuk to “Arabize” the oil-rich region, government and private groups say.

Ethnic cleansing in the northern region known as Kurdistan, which began in 1991, has accelerated in recent months, according to Human Rights Watch.

The push to prepare dossiers for war crimes prosecutions, which involves the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon and the intelligence community, reflects the growing momentum in Washington, D.C., toward ousting Saddam and the increasing preparation for the days afterward.