4) NATO Reaches Agreements on Iraq

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Feb. 16) - NATO agreed to begin planning defense measures to aid Turkey in the event of a U.S.-led war in Iraq, breaking a monthlong stalemate that had opened the biggest rift in the West since the Cold War.

But European Union leaders faced a bruising summit, with France showing no sign of backing down in its opposition to U.S. plans to force Iraq to disarm.

The NATO alliance of the United States and 18 other nations finally reached agreement late Sunday after France was shut out of talks. The other holdouts in the deadlock, Germany and Belgium, then dropped objections to begin the planning to send military aid to Turkey if it is attacked by neighboring Iraq, NATO officials said.

"Alliance solidarity has prevailed,'' NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said. "We have been able collectively to overcome the impasse.''

The United States called the decision a "very big step forward'' for the alliance - even without France.

"We have a clear NATO decision to plan for the support for Turkey,'' U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns said. "And within several days, we have a clear commitment by all 18 allies that we will deploy AWACS and Patriot systems to Turkey.''

He was referring to the 18 other members besides France.

But there was little sign that the breakthrough at NATO would avert a confrontation Monday at an emergency EU summit called to find a common position on Iraq and end the deep division in that 15-nation bloc.

After the breakthrough at NATO, France, Germany and Belgium issued a statement balancing their commitment to honor their defense obligations with their desire to disarm Iraq peacefully. The statement said not all alternatives to military force had been "fully exploited.''

Belgium said it hoped the NATO breakthrough would produce agreement at the EU, but there must be a peaceful solution over Iraq.

"We, Belgium, Germany and France, will continue to defend the view that we must have a peaceful solution through the United Nations,'' Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference.

The United States tried Sunday to defuse the trans-Atlantic row, although Washington would not back down on demanding swift action to disarm Iraq. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Washington was not interested in retribution against France and other allies.

"We don't need to allow this to become a street fight between the United States and France, the United States and Germany,'' she said on NBC.

NATO had been stymied for a month over opposition from France, Germany and Belgium to a U.S.-backed plan to begin planning for possible military aid to Turkey in the event of war with Iraq. Turkey, the only NATO state to border Iraq, is a possible launching point for U.S. military action.

Agreement was threatened when Belgium demanded linking any NATO deployment to developments at the U.N. Security Council, but the final statement made no firm commitment.

"We continue to support efforts in the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis,'' the NATO statement said.

The United States wants NATO to send early-warning aircraft, missile defenses and anti-biochemical units to Turkey in case Iraq attacks.

There was no sign of easy agreement at Monday's EU meeting, diplomats said, with neither side apparently willing to compromise. France and Germany wanted the EU to back them and insist there was no case for war against Iraq at this time, a position rejected by Britain.

Diplomats predicted the summit would, at best, produce a bland statement of unity without solving the split.

Greece, the current EU president, has warned the group faces a crisis if it fails to agree on a common position on Iraq. But Greek diplomats said they were too uncertain of the outcome to even propose a joint position for discussion.

Paris and Berlin have lead the opposition to U.S. demands to swiftly disarm Saddam Hussein. Washington, with strong British support, says Iraq is concealing weapons of mass destruction and not cooperating with a U.N. resolution to disarm.

The EU split erupted when the leaders of eight countries - Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Hungary, Poland and Denmark and the Czech Republic - signed a letter supporting the United States. France, caught by surprise, was enraged, seeing it as a direct challenge.

France reiterated that U.N. weapons inspectors can disarm Iraq peacefully and must have more time. French Foreign Minister Dominque de Villepin rejected U.S. and British calls for a second U.N. resolution authorizing action.

"For us, such a resolution is not necessary while inspections continue to advance,'' he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

De Villepin urged Europe to unite on Iraq, suggesting the United States could not alone ensure global security. He also rejected ousting Saddam in a rebuff to Washington and London, who say the Iraqi leader is a threat.

"That is not acceptable, and above all, it's dangerous,'' he was quoted as saying.

The anti-war camp was boosted by protests around the world Saturday, when millions marched against war. That came after U.N. weapons inspectors said Friday that Iraq had shown some signs of improving its cooperation.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the strongest U.S. ally in Europe, needs a second U.N. resolution to swing around a population largely opposed to war. Blair received a boost Sunday when senior ministers urged the divided governing Labor Party to back the premier.

The summit is seen as a crucial test of the EU's drive to forge a united front on foreign policy and security issues. Failure to work out a common stand on Iraq could exacerbate divisions over the EU's future, especially the drive by France and Germany to create a power capable of balancing the United States on the world stage.

But many EU members are reluctant to surrender their foreign policy and are determined to retain strong ties with the United States, which they see as essential to their security. Several eastern European states preparing to join the EU were excluded from attending Monday's meeting because of their strong pro-U.S. stance.

France and Germany, which long have dominated the EU, are anxious to cement their claim to pre-eminence before the expansion of the union to 25 nations.

Also Sunday, Turkey appeared to take a step back from its already lukewarm backing of the United States, with the government saying a Tuesday vote on allowing U.S. troops to base in Turkey for war with Iraq likely will be delayed.

The announcement came after the foreign minister returned from Washington, where he was unable to successfully negotiate an aid package for Ankara against likely economic disruptions should there be war

02/16/03 21:24 EST

6) US Reportedly Offers Turkey Aid

WASHINGTON (Feb. 15) - The United States is offering Turkey an economic aid package that includes about $6 billion in grants and up to $20 billion in loan guarantees in a bid to secure Ankara's support for an invasion of Iraq, sources familiar with the offer said on Saturday.

President Bush met with Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis and others at the White House on Friday, but U.S. and Turkish negotiators have yet to reach a final agreement that would allow American forces to use Turkish bases as a springboard for an invasion of Iraq from the north.

On top of an estimated $6 billion in grants, the Bush administration is offering backing for up to $20 billion in loans that Turkey could secure through private banks. As a condition for U.S. backing, the United States is demanding that the loans fall under the terms of Turkey's program with the International Monetary Fund.

It is unclear whether Ankara will accept the offer, which has ballooned in size in recent days. Turkey, which says it suffered massive economic damage from the first Gulf War, has been pressing Washington for billions of dollars more.

Once a deal is reached, Bush would submit it to Congress for approval as part of an emergency wartime budget request.

Turkey, which has a 218-mile border with Iraq, is allowing the U.S. military to modernize some bases there for possible use in a war, but has not yet given Washington permission to use them for an offensive.

The aid package, coupled with a deal to limit the number of U.S. troops in the country at any one time, could help avoid a backlash from Turks widely opposed to a war against their fellow-Muslim neighbor.

The Bush administration is finalizing separate multibillion-dollar aid packages for Israel and Jordan which, like Turkey, say they would need U.S. grants and loan guarantees to offset the economic shock of military action to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

An Israeli delegation is due in Washington next week and hopes to quickly finalize the details of its request for $4 billion in military assistance and $8 billion in U.S.-backed loan guarantees.

Under the Israeli proposal, the United States would deduct from the face value of the loan guarantees any Israeli expenditures on settlement activities in Palestinian areas.

Washington has promised Jordan more than $1 billion in aid that could be sent to Congress for approval in coming weeks, officials said.

Egypt is also seeking U.S. help in the form of a free-trade agreement.

U.S. SWEETENS OFFER

At close to $25 billion including the loan guarantees, the Turkish package would be well above the initial U.S. offer of $14 billion, which included grants and the funds needed to support up to $10 billion in loans.

The big increase underscores just how important Turkish basing is to U.S. war-planners.

But it is unclear whether the sweetened offer would win support in Ankara, which stepped up pressure on Washington during two days of intense negotiations.

On Thursday Prime Minister Abdullah Gul backed away from a pledge to hold a parliamentary vote on Feb. 18 on whether to let an expected 30,000 U.S. troops use bases in Turkey to invade northern Iraq, saying the timing of the vote was tied to the negotiations in Washington.

The latest U.S. offer is still far below the amount Turkey was purportedly seeking. According to congressional sources, Ankara at one point asked Washington for close to $50 billion in aid -- an amount U.S. officials dismissed as excessive.

Reut13:03 02-15-03

7) US May Seek Second UN Iraq Resolution

By GINA HOLLAND
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is mulling its next move in the showdown with Saddam Hussein, including a possible attempt to push a new United Nations resolution authorizing force against Iraq.

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it was becoming more obvious that the Iraqi president would not disarm voluntarily, and that the U.N. Security Council was letting him get away with it.

``The Security Council has to be an instrument of peace, but it has to be an instrument of peace that has teeth, or it is never going to be able to deal with the myriad difficult actors out there in international politics who intend to disturb that peace,'' Rice said on NBC's ``Meet the Press.''

The White House had a long holiday weekend to weigh options after being rebuffed Friday as most members of the Security Council lined up behind France's call for more weapons inspections and against military action.

Rice said on ``Fox News Sunday'' that the administration may ask the council to take up a new resolution authorizing force against Iraq, although she said that wouldn't be necessary to take action to forcibly disarm Saddam.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on the same program that the plan being presented this week by America and Britain would likely call for ``definitive progress'' in the disarmament of Iraq.

``If that's rejected, then I think the United States of America is going to have to make some difficult decisions,'' McCain said.

Rice said the wording of a new resolution was not finished and that the White House would oppose a new policy statement that amounts to a ``delaying tactic.''

France has led a formidable bloc calling for extended inspections and wants to wait on a resolution at least until mid-March. Inspectors report on March 1 to the Security Council.

Meanwhile, the chief U.N. nuclear inspector said Sunday that countries opposed to using force against Iraq could change their minds if Baghdad doesn't show more willingness to reveal evidence of weapons programs.

Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the U.N. search for banned weapons along with Hans Blix, told The Associated Press that the onus was on Iraq, not the U.N. inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction, to prove that it had nothing to hide.

In her appearances on the Sunday talk shows, Rice repeatedly said Saddam has weeks, not months, to disarm or face a military strike.

But former NATO supreme commander Wesley Clark said on ``Meet The Press'' that the White House should consider allowing inspections to seek out weapons of mass destruction and not follow an ``artificial deadline.''

``It's unlikely the inspectors will ever find the so-called smoking gun on this. But if it makes our allies more able to go to their publics and justify their support of our operation, then I think that's important,'' said Clark, who has been mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential contender.

Rice said a confrontation was inevitable with Saddam.

``Sooner or later, we believe sooner, the Security Council is going to have to say that he has not taken that final opportunity to comply, and the Security Council is going to have to act, or the United States will have to act with a coalition of the willing,'' Rice said on Fox.

She refused to speculate about the vote possibilities for another Iraq resolution.

Christopher Meyer, British ambassador to United States, said on ABC's ``This Week'' that a decision would be made in the next few days on ``the tactics and timing of a second resolution - when to do it, what to put into it, even who's going to table it.''

02/17/03 04:58 EST

8) US Ship Makes First Inspections Board

By DOUG MELLGREN
.c The Associated Press

ABOARD THE USCGS BOUTWELL (AP) - Crew members from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter CGC Boutwell boarded a container ship in the northern Persian Gulf on Saturday for their first U.N.-mandated inspections since arriving from their home port in California.

The cutter is in the Gulf to aid in the international enforcement of U.N. sanctions imposed on Baghdad after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, checking incoming and outgoing vessels for contraband.

On Saturday, a dozen crew members wearing black Coast Guard life vests and helmets climbed over the side of their own ship and into inflatable boats for the short ride to the freighter Marathon II anchored nearby.

They boarded by climbing a rope ladder sent down from the bright orange Malta-registered freighter.

Later in the day, 10 more crew members joined the boarding party for a time-consuming inspection of about 450 shipping containers stacked on the Marathon II's deck. The inspection was to continue into Sunday.

``We have to inspect to make sure the (ship's cargo) manifest and cargo matches what the United Nations allows,'' said the Boutwell's captain, Scott Genovese of Lynn, Mass.

The 378-foot ship and its crew of 179 set off from their home port of Alameda, Calif., on Jan. 3 and sailed some 15,000 miles.

On a low-key, sunny Saturday aboard the white ship, it hardly seemed that the Boutwell was in a region that could become the scene of a war if the United States carries out its threat to invade Iraq to forcibly rid the country of suspected weapons on mass destruction.

The cutter could be called upon for combat duties if President Bush orders war on Iraq.

But on the ship's open aft deck, it could have been a Saturday afternoon on a pleasure yacht off the California coast, as the ship's engineers fired up a long charcoal grill to relieve the Boutwell's cooks for an evening by barbecuing 250 chicken breasts and trimmings.

``It give the cooks some time off,'' said Fireman Kyle Thompson, 24, of Long Beach, Calif., one of the chefs for a day. ``And it lets us have some fun.''

02/15/03 21:02 EST

9) Navy's Seabees Prepare for Possible War

By RAVI NESSMAN
.c The Associated Press

CAMP 93, Kuwait (AP) - While other military units train for tank battles and air assaults in Iraq, Navy Seabees are laying concrete and refreshing their bridge-building skills.

The Seabees, the Navy's construction force, may not be front-line soldiers, but their role - paving roads and building bridges for tanks and Humvees in hostile territory - may be nearly as important in the event of war in Iraq.

``We're here to support the force,'' said Naval Capt. William Rudich, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, based at Camp 93 in northern Kuwait.

The Seabees - whose name comes from a play on Construction Battalion, or CB - were created during World War II to handle construction projects in areas too dangerous for civilian engineers.

Though they are not sappers who defuse bombs, nor the combat engineers who quickly install floating pontoon bridges to get troops across rivers, the Seabees have a legendary reputation of their own. John Wayne immortalized them in his 1944 film ``The Fighting Seabees,'' which told the story of the force's creation.

They have built bases in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War, purified water in Somalia, helped rebuild Afghanistan's demolished infrastructure and built the detention facility for Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Their motto is ``We build, we fight.'' Their symbol is a bee with a sailor's cap wielding a machine gun, a wrench and a hammer.

``We go everywhere the Marines go,'' said Rear Adm. Charles Kubic, commander of the Seabees, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The Seabees recently built an airfield for Marine planes at a secret location in the Kuwaiti desert. It took 60 days to build.

Many of the more than 1,000 Seabees in the region are based at Camp 93, a desert camp of tents named in honor of the passengers who fought hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

With a clang of mallets against metal, about 25 Seabees worked Thursday to refresh their bridging skills, connecting segments of olive-green steel to create a 60-foot-long bridge to nowhere in the desert in a few hours. Then they pulled it apart.

A few hundred yards away, another team worked to assemble a longer, stronger and wider portable bridge of shiny steel that can hold 110 tons at a time.

Marine Maj. Gen. James Amos flew to Camp 93 on Thursday to present the Seabees with two Marine swords to thank them for the new airfield along with ``probably the largest ... aviation ordnance storage area since Vietnam.''

``I don't think we'd be able to do what we think we have to do had the Seabees not been there,'' he said.

02/14/03 02:04 EST

10) US War Room in Afghanistan Tells Tale

By MARK KENNEDY
.c The Associated Press

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - The war room at the Bagram Air Base is open 24 hours a day, but few may enter and a sign reading ``Who Else Needs to Know?'' reminds people to keep silent about what happens here.

Inside, desks covered with laptops face a giant video monitor and U.S. military planners coordinate all combat operations in the still-dangerous eastern third of Afghanistan where allied forces hunt al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives. The mountains here may even be Osama bin Laden's hiding place.

The room is officially known as the 82nd JOC - the 82nd Airborne Division's Joint Operation Control. It has rarely been shown to reporters.

Here, two dozen or so staffers direct helicopters, planes, artillery and troops.

``This is the hub of it right here,'' said Lt. Col. Michael Shields, the senior operations officer who oversees the war room, constructed of plywood in the middle of an old airplane hangar.

The war room answers to a larger control room responsible for all combat operations in Afghanistan, but it handles the war's hottest area.

If U.S. troops are attacked, the soldiers in the war room decide how to respond. If an enemy base is detected - as recently happened during operation in the Adi Ghar mountains - the officers can direct planes and men to the location in seconds.

The room itself is a mix of old and new technology. Clunky old phones with secure lines look like World War II relics next to snazzy laptops. Up-to-date intelligence reports continually pop up in e-mail windows.

The big video monitor usually displays a digital map of Afghanistan, any section of which can be highlighted with a mouse click. Officers can zoom in so tight that a cluster of red blobs appears, pinpointing troop locations.

The officers say they try to never forget that each blip on the screen represents flesh-and-blood soldiers.

``To me, it's not in the back of my mind. It's in the forefront. That's what drives our decisions because we realize that if we make a mistake, people die,'' said Maj. Anthony Yando, who heads daytime operations.

``There's nobody up here who doesn't know what it's like to be out there,'' said Maj. Steve Devore, director of operations.

The war room is staffed around-the-clock by two shifts. If officers aren't directing an operation, they're conducting drills.

Tables and chairs are lined up in a semicircle, with the battle major and his chief of staff in the center. All decisions pass through them.

Behind them are the battle captains, in touch with the soldiers and constantly plotting their locations. On either side are battle officers monitoring communications, and intelligence officers with the latest info.

Even before a U.S. unit comes under fire, those desks likely are aware of the danger.

``Sometimes you can get little bits and pieces and start anticipating. You'll get a report that there's suspected enemy activity in a place, so you start thinking a little bit ahead,'' Devore said.

``Probably that's the most difficult thing - the fog of the battlefield. You'll have one unit reporting one piece of the information and another reporting another piece and they don't necessarily fit very well,'' Yando said.

The room's second layer is composed of an air defense artillery watch officer and a fire support officer - desks that can lob Patriot missiles against incoming aircraft and mobilize artillery. Nearby staffers maintain contact with the area aircraft.

Rounding out the team: weather forecasters; a liaison with the Afghan authorities; Army lawyers ready to consult the rules of engagement; unexploded ordnance experts; and a nuclear, biological and chemical watch officer.

On the outer edge are liaison officers representing all subordinate or sister units.

``I listen to every single one of these staff sections to tell me what's available and then based on available assets that I can send down there to support, I'll make the decision,'' Yando said.

Large paper maps like those in old war movies sit ready in the back in case the power goes out.

While tensions run high in the heat of combat, officers say cool heads will prevail.

``We don't let it get loud and we don't let it get tense,'' said Shields. ``Generally it's calm. It's got to be that way.''

02/13/03 02:59 EST

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11) 82nd Airborne Troops Depart Fort Bragg

By ESTES THOMPSON
.c The Associated Press

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division began heading out Thursday for Kuwait to join thousands of United States forces already massed for a possible conflict with Iraq.

About 500 soldiers had flown out on commercial airliners by late afternoon and waves of them were scheduled to depart through the weekend. In all, about 4,000 soldiers from the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team were headed to the region.

Few family members were present because most had said their goodbyes earlier.

Spc. Ray Underwood, 29, of Clarkson, Neb., said deploying for a possible combat zone has been on his mind since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

``It's been a reality for me ever since then,'' said Underwood, whose specialty is military intelligence.

Sgt. Seth Harvey, 23, of Hammond, La., just returned three weeks ago from Afghanistan, where the 82nd has about 5,000 soldiers on duty.

``In Afghanistan, that's a guerrilla war,'' Harvey said. ``This is different. We're dealing with a large standing army and that is probably a greater threat.''

02/13/03 22:40 EST

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12) Pentagon Activates More Reserve Troops

By PAULINE JELINEK
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A huge increase in the call-up of National Guard and reserve troops in the past week has pushed the number now serving in the counter-terror war to more than 12 percent of the total force, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

As the United States continued its buildup for a possible war with Iraq, some 38,600 were activated during the week, nearly double the previous largest weekly jump since the September 2001 attacks on America.

``Some ... will deploy to the Middle East, others will serve here in the homeland,'' said Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking, a Defense Department spokesman. ``All of them are essential to winning the war on terrorism.''

Under an order signed by Bush three days after the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, up to 1 million guard and reserve troops can be called to serve for up to two years. Officials have said it is unlikely that number would be needed.

The total now serving under that order is over 150,000, said Stoneking. It stood at 58,000 just a month ago, steadily stepping up each week since then with increases of 15,000 to 20,000 until the big jump of the past week. The figures do not include guard and reserve members normally serving around the globe in a variety of missions.

Though the Pentagon doesn't specify in the weekly reports where units had been sent, a substantial portion are part of the buildup for a possible war in Iraq.

A rapid buildup for the threatened war to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has put some 130,000 American forces in the Persian Gulf region, defense officials said Wednesday. The number is expected to approach 180,000 within a a couple of weeks.

The Bush administration has said the Iraq campaign is part of the global war against terrorists because Saddam could share weapons of mass destruction with terrorist networks.

In its weekly accounting of those called to active duty for counter-terror efforts, the Pentagon said the number now activated in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve jumped to 113,750 from 80,000 the previous week; the Naval Reserve to 6,270 from 5,600; the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve to 15,700 from 11,700; the Marine Corps to 12,540 from 12,280. The Coast Guard reserve remained at about 2,000.

Since Bush signed what is called a ``partial mobilization'' order in 2001, about 200,000 have been activated, some finishing their duty and going back to civilian life. The 150,250 now serving represents a little over 12 percent of the total force of 1.22 million guard and reserve forces.

Officials described that as a substantial commitment, but said they are carefully choosing the troops according to skills needed for the effort.

``With any mobilization, we want to ensure that we have not one more, nor one less...than needed on active duty,'' said Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.

On the Net: National Guard and Reserve on active duty: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2003/d20030205ngr.pdf

02/12/03 09:27 EST

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13) National Guard And Reserve Mobilized As Of February 12, 2003
Date: 2/12/2003 5:16:01 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: dlnews_sender@dtic.mil

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 070-03
(703)697-5131(media)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2003
(703) 428-0711(public/industry)

NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE MOBILIZED AS OF FEBRUARY 12, 2003
This week the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps each
announce an increase of reservists on active duty in support of
the partial mobilization. The net collective result is 38,649
more reservists than last week.

The total number of reserve personnel currently on active duty
in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National
Guard and Army Reserve is 113,751; Naval Reserve, 6,276; Air
National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 15,704; Marine Corps
Reserve, 12,539; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 1,982. This
brings the total Reserve and National Guard on active duty to
150,252 including both units and individual augmentees.

At any given time, services may mobilize some units and
individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for
these figures to either increase or decrease.

A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve who are
currently on active duty can be found
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2003/d20030212ngr.pdf

[Web version: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2003/b02122003_bt070-03.html]

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14) US War Buildup in High Gear in Kuwait
Monday February 10, 2003 10:00 AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2391124,00.html

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait (AP) - The key launch pad for a future war on Iraq bustles with tens of thousands of U.S. and British soldiers. Military convoys clog highways, and the entire northern half of Kuwait is being sealed off as a military operations zone.

``Every day this thing grows by leaps and bounds,'' Lt. Col. Jeffrey Helmick said.

``We're bursting at the seams,'' said Helmick, commander of the U.S. Army's 6th Transportation Battalion, which helps truck tons of supplies from ports of entry to desert camps near the Iraqi border.

Officials will say little about the total number of U.S. troops being dispatched to Kuwait before a possible war. Washington says war is likely to begin soon because Iraq has failed to rid Iraq of all biological, chemical and nuclear weapons - weapons Iraq denies it has.

About 113,000 U.S. troops are now in the Gulf, and that number is expected to climb to 150,000 by Feb. 15 - enough to launch at least the first stage of an invasion. Britain is sending 35,000 troops - including a quarter of its army and its biggest naval task force in two decades.

When troops arrive in Kuwait - usually in cargo planes or in commercial jets chartered by the military - they travel to base camps in civilian buses with curtains that are drawn so potential terrorists don't see in.
The timing of any possible war could be driven less by diplomatic maneuverings than by the complicated logistics required to set up and supply an invasion force. Bringing in tens of thousands of troops involves building new roads, camps and living quarters, in addition to ensuring adequate supplies of food, water, electricity, weaponry, ammunition and vehicles.

Judging from the intense activity at Kuwaiti ports, the massive military convoys blocking traffic throughout the oil-rich emirate and the words of U.S. soldiers on the ground, the job is just about done.

``We've got enough for whatever needs to be done. Now we're just continuing to reinforce it,'' said Sgt. Maj. Larry Stevens, spokesman for the 6th Transportation Battalion. ``If the commander in chief gives the order, we don't have to wait for anything.''

Camps are being set up throughout northern Kuwait, where a large ground force is massing in white tents, bustling mess halls and training grounds with shooting ranges, mock cities and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

At base camps there are gyms with state-of-the-art cardiovascular machines, movie theaters, fast-food restaurants set up in trailers and PXs stocked with everything from Coca Cola to DVDs to Mideastern tobacco pipes. A chapel set up in a tent at Camp Arifjan, the U.S. military's main logistics base south of Kuwait City, has heat, air conditioning and a digital hymn player.

This week, command-and-control systems that would be used in any strike on Iraq are being tested in a computer-generated exercise dubbed Lucky Warrior.

Kuwaiti police, U.S. Marines and an armored vehicle mounted with an M60 machine gun escorted a convoy of 30 heavy trucks carrying bulldozers, forklifts, graders and other engineering equipment across the desert Saturday from Kuwait's main sea port to Camp Virginia, a small base near the Iraqi border.

Soldiers in the convoy clutched their M16 rifles and talked of their hopes and anxieties surrounding a possible war.
Kuwait is grateful to the United States for leading the coalition force that drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. It has welcomed allied troops now despite an official stance opposing war without U.N. approval. The United States says it will attack if necessary, with or without a new U.N. resolution.

The entire northern half of the emirate has been declared off-limits to civilians, to the annoyance of families who normally enjoy camping in those deserts at this time of year.

Despite pervasive pro-U.S. sentiment among Kuwaitis - a rarity in the Muslim world - three serious attacks on Americans here since October have killed a U.S. Marine and an American civilian contracted to the U.S. military. Shots have been fired on U.S. convoys carrying equipment and personnel.

``We're in danger every day,'' said 2nd Lt. Sarah Groen, 23, of Haymarket, Va., who commanded Saturday's convoy.

Inside the cab of one of the convoy's trucks, two sergeants asked an army chaplain how long they'd have to be away from home.

``Wrap your mind around a year,'' said the chaplain, 37-year-old Capt. Craig Johnson, of St. Louis, Mo. Even if a war went quickly, he told the soldiers, there would be many humanitarian operations and other duties to be performed in a postwar Iraq.