The United States is sending 37,000 more soldiers to the Gulf for possible military action against Iraq.
It is the largest ground force identified so far among an estimated 125,000 US troops ordered to deploy by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld since late December.
The mobilisation of a further US army division comes shortly after Britain announced a major deployment to the region of its own troops.
The troops involved in the latest US deployment orders come in addition to the 150,000 US personnel deployed to the region or already mobilised.
The only country in the Gulf where large numbers of US ground troops are assembling is Kuwait, which has at least 17,000 troops engaged in training for desert warfare.
Turkey, to Iraq's north, has been considering a US request that it be permitted to base tens of thousands of ground forces there.
US officials say that some or all of the 37,000 soldiers in "Task Force Ironhorse" might be deployed to Turkey if arrangements are worked out to overcome the Turkish government's reluctance to host a large US force.
AP