WASHINGTON, 22 January 2003 — The Pentagon has ordered another 37,000 US troops to deploy to the Gulf for a possible war with Iraq, bringing to nearly 100,000 the number ordered to go since Jan. 1, defense officials said yesterday. A defense official told Reuters, “We are talking in the range of 37,000 more (troops).”

But he and other officials would not discuss details on when or where in the region the soldiers and their equipment would be sent.

The announcement from Fort Hood late Monday said only that the “repositioning” of forces from “Task Force Ironhorse” would be in support of the war on terrorism and could be used in a combat role if US President George W. Bush made such a decision.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this month issued orders for 62,000 Army soldiers and Marines to be sent to the Gulf as part of the biggest buildup of American forces in the region since the 1991 Gulf War.

Britain also said on Monday it was sending 26,000 troops to the Gulf to join 4,000 British Marines. The aircraft carrier Ark Royal has already set sail, leading a fleet of 16 British ships.

In addition to the buildup of troops, which is expected to put more than 150,000 US military personnel in the Gulf by the end of February, the US Navy is prepared to station as many as six aircraft carriers within striking distance of Iraq. Two are now in the region, two are preparing to move and two others are on maneuvers aimed at possible deployment.

The troop deployments by the United States and Britain came as France bluntly told Washington at the United Nations it would not support an attack on Iraq in the coming weeks, a position diplomats said was shared by most of the 15 UN Security Council members.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin hinted Monday that France might use its veto against any UN resolution authorizing military force. “We believe that nothing today justifies envisaging military action,” he said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was convinced he could win public support for military action against Iraq if it were necessary, despite an opinion poll that showed mounting opposition.

President Bush said he had concluded Iraq was not disarming as required by the United Nations, as one of his top diplomats warned alternatives to war were nearly exhausted. Bush vowed that if necessary, he would lead a coalition of nations in military action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

“It’s clear to me now that he is not disarming. And surely our friends have learned lessons from the past,” Bush said underscoring US frustration with nations who want to give UN weapons inspections more time. Echoing warnings from Bush that cast doubt on the inspections process and Iraqi promises to provide more cooperation, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said alternatives to the use of force had “just about exhausted at this point.”

As work by UN arms inspectors continued in Iraq yesterday, Turkey said it will host a meeting tomorrow of foreign ministers of key regional players — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Jordan and Syria — in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avoid war. Heads of state and government of the six states might later hold a summit meeting depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s gathering in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said.

Speaking in Cairo at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said: “The point of discussion on which we agree is how to spare Iraq from a military strike.”

Asked whether force would be used to change the regime in Baghdad, Prince Saud said: “You know the policy of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Regime change is something that comes from inside and not from outside of the country.”

Meanwhile, a first wave of mainly Western volunteers will leave London at the weekend on a convoy bound for Iraq to act as “human shields” at key sites and populous areas. “The potential for white Western body parts flying around with the Iraqi ones should make them think again about this imperialist oil war,” organizer Ken Nichols, a former US Marine in the 1991 Gulf War, told Reuters. (Agencies)