'US prepared to win war'

President Bush said on Friday the United States was ready to win a potential war with Iraq and "liberate" its people as he rallied soldiers at the largest US Army base amid an intensifying military buildup around the Gulf nation.

"Some crucial hours may lie ahead," Bush, wearing a green military jacket, told about 4,000 troops at Fort Hood Army Base in his home state of Texas. "We are ready. We're prepared."

"If force becomes necessary to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction... to secure our country and to keep the peace, America will act deliberately, America will act decisively, and America will prevail because we've got the finest military in the world," he said. His speech was punctuated with applause, whistles and the soldiers' traditional "hoo-ah" cheers of approval.

Bush accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of being a real threat to the United States and its allies because he had used weapons of mass destruction in the past -- including against his own people.

"Should Saddam seal his fate by refusing to disarm, by ignoring the opinion of the world, you'll be fighting not to conquer anybody but to liberate people," Bush told the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd in a base gymnasium as soldiers and their relatives waved stars-and-stripes.

Bush said he hoped to avoid war but that Saddam had chosen to defy United Nations' disarmament demands by failing to provide a credible account of his nuclear, biological and chemical weapon programs to arms inspectors.

Iraq denies it has such programs, says it is complying with UN resolutions that stem back to the 1991 Gulf War and claims Bush will launch a war to seize its oil wealth no matter what inspectors conclude.

Bush addressed the troops after defence officials said the Pentagon had ordered units of the 45,000-member US 1st Marine Expeditionary Force to deploy from California to join thousands of other troops preparing for a possible war.

Nearly 60,000 US military personnel are in the Gulf and that number could double in the coming weeks following a New Year's surge in the movement of troops, warplanes and ships to the Gulf region.

The president flew to the base by helicopter, landing in a setting that provided images of the military's preparations to underscore his war rhetoric.

Flanking his landing area were sand-coloured tanks, a black Apache attack helicopter, a missile launch vehicle and Bradley fighting vehicles. Some of the soldiers greeting him were dressed in camouflage and sporting green-painted faces as they stood near artillery inscribed with nicknames such as "Cold Steel."

Another report says, Britain is to send more than 20,000 troops to the Gulf and mobilise 7,000 reservists next week in preparation for war against Iraq, The Daily Telegraph said Saturday.

It said defence chiefs will brief Prime Minister Tony Blair on his return from holiday about plans for a mass deployment led by the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Blair is then expected to announce the deployment in a statement to parliament.

AFP adds: Iraq is preparing to take in thousands of people from across the world who have offered to be used as "human shields" against a US-led war, an official newspaper reported Saturday.

Al-Qadissiyah quoted former Jordanian MP Mansur Murad, who has been campaigning for volunteers, as saying some 100,000 people had already come forward.

However, the daily gave no dates for the arrival of the volunteers, nor their exact numbers.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said Thursday the regime backed the human shield volunteers.