Washington: Making clear that it will not accept any explanations from Saddam Hussein that Iraq does not have any more weapons of mass destruction, the US is briskly preparing for the world's first pre-emptive war, with a high-tech forward headquarters built in a Qatari Army base.

In a pre-emptive war, unlike preventive war waged on an enemy who is expected to launch an attack, war can be unleashed under the Bush Doctrine against a country which is likely to build weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and attack the US, its allies or neighbours in the future unless a regime change is brought about immediately.

Two aircraft carriers are already in the forward headquarters and a third is on its way.

The US assumes that while the Arab "Street" may not support the war, Arab rulers who depend on the US for protection will.

'The Washington Post' reported that "lack of hard evidence" that Iraq still has weapons of mass destruction "complicates US aims" to bring about regime change.

President Bush in his weekly radio address on December 7 said, "It is not enough for Iraq to merely open doors for inspectors. Compliance (with the UN Security Council resolution) means bringing all requested information and evidence out into full view, to show that Iraq has abandoned the deceptions of the last decade."

PTI