WASHINGTON, December 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A top U.S. general and his battle staff will play out scenarios “involving” Iraq next week in a major exercise centered in Qatar and involving several thousand U.S. military personnel worldwide, senior U.S. defense officials said Wednesday, December 4.

Dubbed "Internal Look", the exercise is the latest step in a series of U.S. moves to keep the pressure on Baghdad while preparing for a possible war, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Army General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in the region, and his staff will use a newly installed command center at a Qatari base to conduct the December 9-16 exercise, the officials said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.

"For the most part the staff officers are fully embedded in what we call our battle rhythm," said a senior official speaking via teleconference from Qatar.

The deployable command center, consisting of several modular buildings housing computers and communications equipment, will remain in Qatar after the exercise ends, said a second senior official in Tampa, Florida, headquarters of the U.S. Central Command.

That would give Franks, who heads this week to the region, a set up in the region from which to run a war on Iraq if President George W. Bush decided to attack Baghdad.

Iraq faces a key deadline December 8, the day before "Internal Look" begins, when it is supposed to make a full and accurate declaration of its alleged weapons of mass destruction programs to the UN Security Council resolution.

"In terms of staying, I can tell you no decision has been made whether General Franks and the senior battle staff comes back," said the official in Tampa. "For the time being the headquarters will remain in Qatar."

About 1,000 military personnel from the Central Command are deploying to Qatar for the exercise, including Franks, who is heading to the region this week, they said.

No U.S. combat troops will be involved, but battle staffs of every supporting U.S. military command in the Gulf region as well as the Tampa headquarters will be linked into the exercise through computerized communications, the officials said.

"It will be a very comprehensive worldwide exercise," said the senior official in Tampa, adding that in all several thousand U.S. military personnel will participate.

The officials said the scenarios being played out were classified, but acknowledged that they involved contingencies facing U.S. forces in the region, including Iraq.

A possible war with Iraq "will be some of the consideration, but that will not be the only consideration," said the official in Qatar.

An "Internal Look" exercise conducted in 1990 later served as the blueprint for the U.S.-led military offensive that drove Iraq from Kuwait in 1991. "Internal Look" exercises also were held in 1996 and 2000.