CAIRO, Egypt - Moammar Gadhafi should either step down or be removed from power because he has "ruined Libya," a respected Arabic newspaper columnist wrote today.

Columnist Jihad al-Khazen compared the Libyan leader to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying both had equivalent "evil intentions."

His column was published in the newspaper Al Hayat today, a day after American media reported that Gadhafi had plotted to assassinate the Saudi crown prince.

Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam has denied the reports. President Bush said Thursday the United States was trying to establish whether there was such a plot.

"If Moammar Gadhafi committed fewer crimes than Saddam Hussein, it is because Libya is smaller and weaker," al-Khazen wrote. "Moammar Gadhafi was never fit to rule Libya."

"Either he leaves willingly or (he should) be overthrown, because this man has ruined Libya, squandered its wealth, instigated well-known terrorist operations, and is still supporting terrorism as shown by his plotting against Crown Prince Abdullah," al-Khazen said.

The alleged plot against Abdullah was revealed separately by Abduraham Alamoudi, an American Muslim leader jailed in Alexandria, Va., on federal charges of having illegal financial dealings with Libya; and by Col. Mohamed Ismael, a Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody.

Al-Khazen, a former editor at Al Hayat, one of the two most authoritative pan-Arab dailies, said he also knew about the plot.

"For the past six months or so, I had information that Col. Moammar Gadhafi was hatching a conspiracy to assassinate His Highness Crown Prince Abdullah," wrote al-Khazen. "When I raised the issue with official friends, I understood they had the information from sources other than mine. However, I wasn't given any details for obvious reasons."

Al Hayat is Saudi-owned. Al-Khazen took pains to say he had criticized Gadhafi several times before the alleged plot emerged.

Gadhafi seized power in a military coup in 1969. He adopted policies of sweeping nationalization, invaded northern Chad, and supported international militant groups.

In the 1980s, the United States began imposing sanctions against Libya, accusing it of supporting terrorists and meddling in other countries' affairs.

The State Department still lists Libya as a state sponsor of terror, but says Libya has taken significant steps away from being a rogue state. Among these was Libya's decision last year to accept responsibility for bombing an American airliner over Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, and to pay compensation to the families of the victims.