Britain is expected to announce the deployment of thousands of troops to the Gulf to join the build-up of US forces preparing for a possible war on Iraq.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper claims the UK is preparing to send 20,000 regular troops and 7,000 reservists, including a Royal Navy force, to the Gulf.
US President George W Bush has meanwhile issued a rallying call to his troops, telling them that a war in Iraq would be 'not to conquer but to liberate'.
Mr Bush urged Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to 'end his defiance' of UN resolutions and avoid military action.
