KUWAIT: With a large British expeditionary force moving to the Middle East within weeks to prepare for a possible war against Iraq, no preparations are being made for the arrival of the force in the Gulf, raising the prospect of a logistical nightmare should troops be deployed.
According to a spokesman for the ministry of defence, there are "no plans" to begin building any the camps or any infrastructure in Kuwait - the main destination for the 20,000 British troops that are expected to arrive.
"We are not concerned with that level of detail at this stage. When we go, we will make sure we have the infrastructure ready to support us," the spokesman said.
But with a fully operational military base taking up to six weeks to construct, time is running out for building work to begin.
Although there is already a British presence at the Aliah Salem air base, which houses 300 RAF personnel and eight tornadoes used to patrol Iraq's southern no-fly zone, the base is not big enough to house a full expeditionary force.
That means building military camps similar to the ones built by the US army along the border with Iraq where over 5,000 troops are currently housed - an undertaking which took several months with each camp housing around 1,500 soldiers.
One US military official said: "To build a base for the size of force being talked about, you need communication centres, hard-structure buildings and a solid transport infrastructure.
"Unless the entire British army plans to stay in tents for the duration of the war, work needs to begin preparing for their arrival. The way things stand at the moment I can't imagine the British coming to Kuwait any time soon, " the official added.
Kuwaiti officials have also expressed surprise at the prospect of the imminent arrival of British troops. "If the British have any plans to send an expeditionary force to Kuwait, we have not heard of them," said a spokesperson for the defence ministry.
The lack of planning will come as an embarrassment for British defence chiefs, who earlier this week announced the stepping-up of military preparations in order to demonstrate that Britain's contribution to American military pressure against Saddam Hussein was "credible".