US orders 60,000 troops to the Gulf despite stand-off

THE United States has ordered 60,000 more troops to the Gulf, despite signs that a war on Iraq might be delayed until April, as big powers and ally Turkey persisted yesterday in complicating its military plans.

Ankara’s surprise decision not to let US troops launch an attack on neighbouring Iraq from Turkey has upset plans for a mid-March invasion, but Ankara indicated a new parliamentary vote could be held.

US defence officials announced the dispatch of the fresh troops to join a more than 250,000-strong US and British force, as a divided UN Security Council considered whether to approve a new draft resolution authorising war.