US continues troop build-up

THE US has ordered thousands more troops to the Gulf, despite signs of European reluctance to rush to war with Iraq.

As the military build-up went ahead, British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged that the UN inspectors be given time to do their job. His spokesman said Mr Blair had told his cabinet: “January 27, whilst an important staging post, should not be regarded in any sense as a deadline.”

The Washington Post, however, quoted a senior US official as saying that, while the US believed the January 27 report would probably not provide a definitive trigger for war, “it is a very important day (marking) the beginning of a final phase”.