Long columns of US troops, armored vehicles and trucks advanced through swirling sand in the Kuwati desert toward the Iraqi border yesterday, positioning themselves to invade on short notice.

　　With just hours left before US President George W. Bush's deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, Major General Buford Blount III, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, ordered his 20,000 troops and 10,000 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and fuel trucks to line up near the border.

　　The soldiers had slept under the stars after packing their tentssintosthe back of their convoy,swheresthey will likely stay until the worst of the fighting is over.

　　The 3rd Infantry Division is the only armored force in the region and is likely to attack Iraqi defenses head-on in the event of war. Troops of the 101st are expected to be flown in on helicopters to seize key installations ahead of the 3rd Division.

　　At the US Army's Camp New Jersey, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division' 3rd Brigade summoned his officers for a "battle update" briefing. "We are one day closer to making history, everybody," said Colonel Michael Linnington.

　　A strong sandstorm swept in yesterday, affecting several units, hampering movement and visibility. The storm was expected to last through the day, with heavy gusts of wind subsiding in the night.

　　About 300,000 troops - most of them from the United States, about 40,000 from Britain - waited within striking distance of Iraq. Backing them are scores of attack helicopters and more than 1,000 airplanes.

　　At sea, the aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman moved a step closer to war footing, getting ready to conduct operation flights around the clock.

　　Near the war zone, commander Tommy Franks hunkered down with other top military officers at the forward command center in Qatar, about 1,130 kilometers from Baghdad.

　　Equipment, supplies and troops continued to arrive in Kuwait,swheresmost of the US and British ground troops preparing to invade Iraq were awaiting their final orders.

　　In the desert near the border with Iraq, US troops packed up their gear and loaded it onto cargo trucks and armored vehicles. Soldiers said they were a The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk met with an ammunition ship, the USNS Flint, to load more 450-kilogram Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs and Phoenix air-to-air missiles.

　　Hours before his war deadline, Bush met with foreign policy advisers to review military plans for Iraq.

　　Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other members of his war council gathered for their regular meeting with the president.

　　The session came about 12 hours before the deadline Bush imposed on Saddam. The Iraqi leader can avoid war if he flees his country by 0100GMT today.

　　The White House had no plans to mark the deadline. Aides said Bush would decide on the timing of war based on the advice of military leaders.

　　Armed members of Saddam's Baath party fanned out across Baghdad yesterday in a show of force while other Baghdad residents hunkered down in preparation for war.

　　Iraqi officials remained defiant that Saddam would stay and fight, with members of the Iraqi parliament meeting in extraordinary session yesterday and declaring their loyalty.

　　"We are dedicated to martyrdom in defense of Iraq under your leadership," they said in a message to Saddam issued at the end of the session.

　　Last night, the Gulf state of Bahrain offered Saddam a haven, the first such offer to be publicly extended to the embattled Iraqi leader as Arabs scramble to avert war.

　　Bahrain's Information Minister Nabil al-Hamer said that the offer had been relayed to Saddam through "diplomatic channels." Saddam has vowed to fight rather than flee.

　　"It's the last hour chance and we hope that Iraq will accept this offer to avoid war," said al-Hamer. "As a regional country Bahrain shares the responsibility to maintain peace in the area and we believe nobody wants war and this is one way to avoid it."

　　Bahrain "is ready to host Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a dignified manner that should not be seen as undermining Iraq's position and capabilities," Bahrain news agency reported the king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as saying.