U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has signed a deployment order to send "significant" ground forces, combat aircraft and logistics support to the Gulf region, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
The classified order, a 20-plus-page document that Rumsfeld signed Tuesday, identifies an array of forces and capabilities -- such as mechanized infantry units, midair refuelers and medical facilities -- that will be shipped and airlifted to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and other Gulf nations in the coming weeks, the report added.
The U.S. military has been deploying troops, aircraft, tanks, other heavy equipment and supplies to the Gulf region for months in anticipation of possible military action against Iraq. Currently, there are some 60,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in the region and 400 aircraft at bases in Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
Rumsfeld's deployment order marked the beginning of what officials have described as a far more visible buildup of forces.
"We're going to continue to deploy forces in a steady and deliberate buildup to help the diplomatic process and shorten the time frame from when the president makes a decision to when we can conduct operations," one senior defense official told the newspaper. (Albawaba.com)
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