WASHINGTON, Jan 13: The US military should be in position by mid-February to carry out any order to invade Iraq, defence officials said on Monday, as a massive new deployment of ground and air forces to the Gulf got underway.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld set in motion the latest and largest surge of US forces with orders on Friday that will bring the total numbers in the Gulf region to more than 150,000 in coming weeks.

The kind of forces are as important as the numbers. Officials said there were 20,000 Marines involved, including aviation units and enough ground forces to effectively form a combat division.

Also being deployed is a US Army airborne infantry brigade, which would give mobility to army ground forces now centred on the Third Infantry Division in Kuwait, a mechanized force of M1 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.

The US air force is sending F-117 stealth fighters and F-16CJ electronic jamming planes, combat aircraft that could be used to penetrate the bristling Iraqi air defences around Baghdad in the opening phase of an air war.

An air force spokeswoman said more Joint Stars, radar ground surveillance aircraft used to track moving vehicles such as tanks and convoys, will also go under the latest orders.

Under earlier orders, the air force is deploying B-1 bombers, F-15 and F-16 fighters, as well as search and rescue aircraft, unmanned spy planes, and special forces aircraft, including AC-130 gunships.

General Tommy Franks’s forward command center in Qatar, meanwhile, was expected to be fully manned by the end of the month, a US military official in Qatar said.

Defence officials said the latest forces, some 62,000 in all, should be in place by mid February.

“It will certainly give the president a very good fix on giving him capabilities to make a decision and us carrying out any decision he makes,” said a US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Does that mean we can go within 24 hours of a decision? No. Does that mean we can go shortly after a decision is made? Yes,” the official said.

Defence officials also contended that the Pentagon would be ready to go into action now if President George W. Bush so ordered.

But analysts said a full scale attack on Iraq would require at least three army divisions and one or two Marine divisions, which means additional ground forces will be needed.

“There’s potentially still more to come,” said the official.

US war plans call for 200,000 to 250,000 troops, about half the 500,000 US troops deployed for the 1991 Gulf War.—AFP