President sends in war command

Military action against Saddam Hussein came dramatically closer today with significant movements by American and British armed forces.

As President Bush prepared to address the UN today, he set up a war command in the Gulf. American General Tommy Franks is leading a 600-strong contingent of senior staff from US Central Command Headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to Qatar, from where he is expected to command operations against Iraq.

The British 7th and 4th Armoured Brigades and the HQ of the Ist UK Armoured Division - all based in Germany - are set to begin operations in the desert within two weeks.

In a further significant move, key reservists in the British armed services have been told to expect to be mobilised at the end of the month for possible operations in the Gulf and Iraq.

The specialists, including medics and signallers, have been warned to expect their mobilisation papers in two to three weeks.

The moves came as President Bush was set to warn the UN they must act against Saddam, while Tony Blair was meeting Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and the Liberal Democrats' Charles Kennedy to seek their support for military strikes before an emergency recall of Parliament.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the BBC's Today programme that Iraq must be given "a clear ultimatum with a sting in its tail" for complying with United Nations demands on weapons inspections.

President Bush, who has already been presented with the "plan for Iraq" by General Franks, will warn the UN that it must take action to enforce its resolutions on Iraq or "risk irrelevance".

Mr Bush warned in his 11 September anniversary address in New York: "We are joined by a great coalition of nations to rid the world of terror. And we will not allow any terrorist or tyrant to threaten civilisation with weapons of mass destruction."

He added: "This nation has defeated tyrants, liberated death camps and raised this lamp of liberty to every captive land. We have no intention of ignoring or appeasing history's latest gang of fanatics trying to murder their way to power.

"Now and in the future, Americans will live as free people, not in fear, and never at the mercy of any foreign plot or power."

In London, a draft timetable drawn up by No10 would see the Cabinet meeting on Monday week, 23 September, to discuss Iraq. The following day, the Government would publish its long-awaited dossier spelling out the threat posed by Saddam.

Mr Blair would unveil the document with a statement to the Commons, launching one or two days of debate.

Meanwhile, substantial British forces are now expected to be ready for operations in the Gulf by the end of November, according to military sources here.

By then the Army could have a small division in Kuwait and adjoining areas ready for action, which could begin in late November or early December. The 7th and 4th and the Ist UK Armoured were the main British ground units in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Heavy British and American air attacks on ground defences in Iraq are now being seen as an opening shot in the campaign to force Saddam to give up his weapons of mass destruction, or face the consequences.

Ostensibly this week's raid on a large airbase 250 miles south-west of Baghdad was to knock out ground-to-air missiles and radar threatening British and American aircraft policing the no-fly zone in the skies of southern Iraq.

But according to Major Charles Heyman, senior analyst at the Janes Defence Group: "It was much bigger than anything we have seen recently and it seemed aimed at taking out the command and control for the air defences for most of western and north-western Iraq."

Further air attacks will attempt to "blind" Iraq's early-warning radars in the area from which Scud missile attacks were launched on Israel in the Gulf war of 1991.

With radars destroyed, it would be easier to land teams of special forces, from the SAS and US Delta Force, to hunt down mobile Scud launchers.

Equally significant were the attacks by US Navy planes from Gulf-based carriers to knock out Iraq's Chinese-made Silkworm surface-to-surface missiles in silos round the southern port of Basra.

It is thought that Basra is likely to be the first objective in a serious allied ground campaign to curb or oust Saddam. Troops landed from helicopters and landing craft would seize the two airfields and the port as the main supply base for any allied push on Baghdad.

It is now expected that the 1st UK Armoured Division, equipped with the latest Challenger2 tanks, would move from Kuwait as a leading element of the land operation. At the same time, Royal Marines would join up to 20,000 US marines now expected in the area by mid-November in an amphibious operation.

The plan strongly resembles that used to oust Saddam's forces from Kuwait in February and March 1991. If anything, British forces will have an even more prominent role this time and more than 30,000 men and women from all three services are likely to be involved.

The armoured thrust by tanks and heavy artillery will be matched by a force of assault troops being dropped by helicopter or Hercules transport aircraft.

This might be commanded by another scratch divisional headquarters of Royal Marines and Airborne Forces from 3 Commando Brigade and 16 Air Assault Brigade. They are likely to be joined by at least two light infantry battalions.

Commanders have been particularly impressed by the recent performance of the 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment in Kabul this year, and currently the 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment in Kosovo.

The move on Basra would be the first phase of a "bite and hold" campaign in Iraq, which some military planners now believe could last throughout most of next year. But British and American commanders believe they have the forces, skills and will to take Baghdad itself if necessary.