AMERICAN forces are preparing to hold a rehearsal for war with Iraq from a new military headquarters in Qatar.

Hundreds of officers from the US Central Command have arrived in the Gulf kingdom and will be joined by General Tommy Franks, their commander, this week. Within ten days they will begin a simulated “war game” in the region, the first of its kind outside the United States, Pentagon officials said yesterday.

The officials said that the commanders would return to their base in Tampa, Florida, after the exercise, called Internal Look, which is scheduled to last up to ten days. Nevertheless, the operation is a sign of the continued US military build-up in the Gulf as the possibility of war with Iraq looms.

President Saddam Hussein — and potential US allies in the region — will view the exercise as a demonstration of Washington’s resolve. In particular, it will send a message to Riyadh that the US is prepared to conduct a war without large-scale access to bases in Saudi Arabia.

It also highlights the growing American military presence in Qatar, where the new al-Sayliyah base has been transformed in recent months into a potential nerve centre for American operations throughout the Middle East. The 262-acre base, which cost $100 million (£64.5 million), has more than 20 climate- controlled warehouses storing hundreds of tanks and other armoured vehicles designed for desert combat.

About 300 American troops have been permanently based there since it opened in August 2000, but the exercise about to unfold, which will see an influx of 750 US officers, could see the base become the centrepiece of the US military presence in the region.

General Franks, Commander-in-Chief of US Central Command (Centcom), will use the exercise to test whether the base’s command and control facilities are suitable for overseeing a war with Iraq. The 1991 Gulf War was run from Centcom’s Florida headquarters, as was the war in Afghanistan, although some decisions were taken from US bases in the Gulf.

The war game, which will be played out on computer screens and is distinct from the US military exercises under way in Kuwait, will see General Franks commanding his forces from Qatar alongside fellow US commanders in other Gulf countries. If it is a success, Internal Look will provide him with a template for a war with Iraq.

Al-Sayliyah is distinct from Qatar’s $1 billion al-Udeid airbase, which was built by Qatar to entice American military might. It would also play a crucial role in a war, especially if the Saudis refused to allow the US to run its air campaign from the Prince Sultan airbase near Riyadh.

Co-operation between the United States and Qatar is on a significantly higher level than US-Saudi relations, blighted by criticism from Washington that Riyadh is failing to do enough in the search for terrorist financiers. US officials say that they have not tabled a formal request with Qatar to command American forces from there. The Emir and his family have local sensibilities to consider, but, keen for US protection, they have long suggested that Centcom relocate to their country.

Iraqi officials said yesterday that four people had been killed and 27 injured by Western warplanes patrolling the southern no-fly zone in Iraq. US officials confirmed that American and British aircraft had attacked, but had hit an Iraqi air defence facility in response to Iraqi artillery fire. The Iraqis said that the aircraft had hit the administrative offices of the Southern Oil Company in Basra.

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