With a stepped up military campaign in Iraq, US Central Command (Centcom) has announced that it is also beefing up its forward headquarters in Qatar. Centcom, which is in overall charge in Iraq, says the Qatar move will help support its operations in Iraq.
About 200 to 300 staff are being sent from the main Centcom HQ in Florida to join about 100 people already in Qatar.
The Pentagon is playing down the move but it will help US troops respond quicker to developments in Iraq.
The overall commander, General John Abizaid, is also planning to spend more time in the region.
 General Abizaid says his troops have "good control" in Iraq |
General Abizaid insisted this week that his forces have what he described as good control of the military situation there.
But he agreed that it was an urgent matter to deal with the increased wave of attacks on the US-led coalition.
According to US defence officials the extra personnel in Qatar will also be helping with what will be a massive rotation of tens of thousands of US troops over the next few months as fresh forces take over in Iraq from the units currently there.
One-Minute World News 
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