Saturday, September 14, 2002 Tishrei 8, 5763 Israel Time: 20:18 (GMT+3) 16:53 14/09/2002 Last update - 16:56 14/09/2002 By The Associated Press DOHA - Qatari residents said this week they have seen increased activity from American troops stationed in this tiny Gulf state, feeding speculation the United States will attack Iraq.

A U.S. military official in Qatar and a U.S. embassy official in Doha refused to comment on the activity reported by Qatari residents when contacted by The Associated Press on Saturday.

There are around 1,000 U.S. troops in Qatar.

In recent months Qatar has emerged as among the most accommodating Gulf allies for U.S. military forces in the global war against terrorism. It has not, though, publicly supported military action against Iraq, which the United States accuses of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and sponsoring terrorism.

An employee at one of Qatar's main department stores said the U.S. military was stocking up on food and other essentials and that the pace of the shopping spree had significantly picked up over the past 10 days.

The employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military was buying huge quantities of canned food, juice and cereal among other products. The employee said bulk purchases had been common in the past, but these were well above normal.

Oil traders in the Gulf said the U.S. military had bought enormous amounts of bunker fuel, to be used in warships, troop carriers and frigates, in July, adding that purchases have slowed down recently.

A Doha resident who lives close to Doha International Airport said U.S. military transport aircraft had been landing at and taking off from the airport at a hectic pace over the past few days.

It was not immediately clear whether the activity was routine troop and equipment movement or related to current U.S.-Iraq tension. Airport officials refused comment.

Qatar could be subjected to sharp criticism from other Arabs, who have stressed the need for solidarity with the Iraqi people. The issue of its cooperation with the United States is sensitive here.

On Thursday, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani said in Washington his country has not received a request by the United States to use a U.S. air base here to strike Iraq, but said any request would be considered.

"If they ask us, we will consider it carefully," he said.

The foreign minister, however, repeated cautions from other Arab leaders that a U.S. strike on Iraq could further destabilize an already volatile region.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday in Washington that the Defense Department probably would put a forward command center for the U.S. Central Command at the Qatar air base. Central Command officials announced last week that about 600 core staff would move from the command's current headquarters in Florida to Qatar in November for a training exercise.

Central Command oversees U.S. military operations in the Gulf, east Africa and Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

If Saudi Arabia, where the United States already has a large air base, were to prohibit the United States from using it as a command post to coordinate attacks on Iraq, the facilities at Qatar's al-Udeid air base could be used instead.

Al-Udeid, 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Doha, boasts a 4,572-meter (15,000-foot) runway and can shelter nearly 100 aircraft.

Built at a cost of more than $1 billion, al-Udeid hosts computers, communications and other intelligence equipment and is a main support center for troops engaged in post-September 11 operations in Afghanistan.

U.K. army launches biggest home exercise since 1998 Britain launched Saturday its biggest army exercise on home ground since 1998 - but defense officials insisted it was not a saber-rattling trial run for war against Iraq.

In a test of their logistical skills, up to 6,000 troops are using 1,000 vehicles to transport thousands of tons of material and equipment across the country.

"Exercise Log Viper has started. It is now under way," a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

But he was quick to insist: "It has nothing to do with Iraq, I can assure you of that." He said that the four-week exercise "has been planned for over a year."

"When the army carries out an exercise, you can rest assured it is not planned overnight. This is the largest U.K.-based army exercise since 1998," the spokesman said.

Army chiefs said the main aim of the logistical test was "to provide the opportunity to ensure we can feed, clothe and maintain supplies, vehicles and weaponry when required."

Despite assurances the long-planned exercise had nothing to do with Iraq, military experts said the warning to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would be clear.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been U.S. President George W. Bush's staunchest supporter in his policy against the Iraq regime.

On Saturday, Bush said the United States must confront Saddam before he builds a nuclear bomb.

In his weekly radio address, Bush challenged the U.S. Congress and the United Nations to take a forceful stand against Iraq, saying the "lives of millions and the peace of the world" might be at stake.

Bush said his call for action was gaining ground, a day after Iraq flatly rejected U.S. demands for a swift and unconditional return of UN arms inspectors.

The UN inspectors, responsible for accounting for Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapon programs, were pulled out of Iraq in 1998.

Blair, who faces resistance within his own Labour Party to Britain joining any U.S. attack on Iraq, has recalled parliament at the end of the month to discuss the issue.

On Saturday, one of the most vociferous critics of British involvement, former Culture Secretary Chris Smith, warned an attack on Iraq would cause a "disintegration of the international coalition against terrorism."

"I hope that the Cabinet will be saying to the prime minister, you know, hang on a moment, it's British interests, it's global interests that matter primarily here, it's not just American interests," he said in a television interview.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2002