From the New York Times

Britain, Washington's principal military ally, is preparing to send up to 20,000 troops along with tanks and other supplies to the region in the coming weeks, according to the Ministry of Defense…

In disclosing these plans this week, military chiefs argued that their actions did not mean that war was inevitable but were instead necessary preparedness steps…

Mr. Blair, visiting a hospital today in northeastern England, said he was "deeply skeptical" about the 12,000-page weapons accounting that Iraq has given the United Nations, but he did not go so far as Secretary of State Colin L. Powell did on Thursday in saying it constituted a "material breach" of the United Nations resolution, the trigger phrase that has been formulated as giving the United States cause to go to war.

Blair Warns Troops to Be Prepared for a War

From the Washington Post

The U.S. military's top general told troops stationed in this Persian Gulf state to brace for long-term conflict because he could see no end to the administration's declared war on global terrorism.

On the first stop of a three-day visit to the gulf region and Afghanistan, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked several times by soldiers for some indication of an administration exit strategy and for a lessening of the repeated and extended deployments that many troops are now experiencing.

"I can't give you a good answer," he said. "I just can't do it because there's just too much uncertainty out there."

General to Troops: Sit Tight

The U.S. military is poised to begin a rapid and visible buildup of forces in the Persian Gulf early next month involving 50,000 combat troops, aircraft, armor and tens of thousands of reservists, senior defense officials said.

The escalation would give President Bush the option of beginning combat operations in late January or early February, after the United Nations Security Council meets Jan. 27 to hear the first substantive report from Hans Blix, the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector, on whether Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.

One senior defense official said the Pentagon had been moving heavy equipment for months as part of a buildup that was kept low key to avoid alarming the international community and creating the impression that the Bush administration had prejudged the U.N. arms inspection process.

"But without a doubt, within the next week or so, you'll see more muscle movements than you've seen up to now," the official said. "We've been below the threshold of pain of the international community. I think you're going to see a strategy change to one of demonstrated resolve, if not overt coercion…"

The prepositioning that has taken place to date, another defense official said, was designed to reduce the time necessary to assemble an invasion force from four to six months to four to six weeks or less. The official said 200,000 to 250,000 reservists could be necessary, not only to support a military campaign, but also to fulfill security missions at bases in the United States that did not exist during the Persian Gulf War 11 years ago…

Rapid Buildup in Gulf on Horizon

From the Guardian

As President George Bush gave his formal assent to deploying a further 50,000 US soldiers in the Gulf, Mr Blair delivered his Christmas message to UK forces in which he apologised for the uncertainty they faced but said it was inevitable.

"At the moment we simply don't know whether Iraq will be found in breach of the United Nations resolution," he told the British Forces Broadcasting Service.

But he added that it was crucial for the military to be ready for possible action. "The key thing at the moment is to make all the preparations necessary, and to make sure that we are building up the capacity in the region - both the Americans and ourselves - and that we are able to undertake this mission if it falls to us to do so.

"If it is, and if we discover they have been refusing to cooperate properly with the UN inspectors, then we have always made clear that we will go back to the security council, that we will be prepared to use force." Later, Mr Blair stressed that war could be avoided if President Saddam cooperated…

Meanwhile, the new deployment is part of what US officials call a "ramping up on various fronts", toughening the language for war, as well as making concrete preparations. US officials said potential bombing targets in Baghdad were being chosen based on their importance in President Saddam's power structure…

Blair: get ready for war on Iraq

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