US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Deputy Richard L Armitage have indicated to the White House that they intend to step down even if President George W Bush is re-elected, setting the stage for a reshaping of the administration's foreign policy team.

Citing 'sources familiar with the conversation,' The Washington Post said in Monday's edition that Armitage recently told national Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice that he and Powell will leave on January 21, 2005, the day after the next presidential inauguration.

The daily said Powell had indicated to associates that a promise to his wife, rather than any dismay at the administration's foreign policy, is a key factor in his desire to limit his tenure to one presidential term.

Rice and Deputy Defence Secretary Paul W Wolfowitz are the leading candidates to replace Powell, according to sources inside and outside the administration.

Rice appears to have an edge because of her closeness to the president, though it is unclear whether she would be interested in running the state department's vast bureaucracy, the paper said.

Some observers have speculated that Powell, who made an extensive presentation before the United Nations in February on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the war, has been embarrassed by the failure to find much evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programmes.

Powell has declined to answer questions about his plans. "I serve at the pleasure of the president," he said in July.

PTI