US forces build up in Gulf

A massive build up of US forces appears to be under way in the Gulf - indicating that Iraq is the next target in America's campaign against terrorism.

The headquarters of the 3rd Army Group from Fort MacPherson, Georgia, is on the move to set up in Kuwait. It was the 3rd Army HQ under General Yeostock that led the ground operations in Desert Storm 10 years ago.

Britain is poised to send ground forces to Kabul to start a humanitarian mission and to provide security for the new UN-backed interim government. Officially the Ministry of Defence is sticking to the line that "no decisions have been taken, and we are considering several options".

But this morning the American news network, CNN, announced that Britain is expected to declare later today it will lead the new peace force, which will be made up of contingents from Germany, France, Italy, Bangladesh, Turkey, Jordan and the Netherlands.

"I think we will be in Kabul much faster than anybody realises," said a senior commander last night, "days, not weeks". The first element is likely to be commanded by the headquarters of the 16th Air Assault Brigade, which is configured to move quickly by air, and has been on high alert for some weeks.

Britain and its allies have insisted that the new force has a full mandate from the UN Security Council. It has to be in place before 22 December, when the new governmentis inaugurated in Kabul, according to senior officers. The options now facing Britain in Afghanistan and in the campaign against global terrorism have been spelled out in a major speech in London by Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of the Defence Staff. In reviewing Britain's security and defence policies in the aftermath of 11 September, he said the country is now faced with stark choices.

Either the UK could support the Americans in the global pursuit of the destruction of the al Qaeda terror network and its allies, or it could get involved "in nation building and reconstruction in Afghanistan". He emphasised that America would look on Nato "for political rather than military support," and would now concentrate on the fight against terrorism, rather than the reconstruction of failed states like Afghanistan and Somalia. "Britain must decide whether we commit ourselves to offensive operations against terrorism or nationbuilding and reconstruction tasks, or both," he added.