Royal Australian Navy – Australia is deploying P-3 Orions to the Gulf.

• Reuters: Australia to Deploy Aircraft to Gulf

US Marines – The Marines maritime prepositioning ships in Diego Garcia are being activated.

• Washington Post: Rumsfeld Orders 62,000 More GIs To Join 60,000 in the Persian Gulf

Background – Iraq – William Arkin on the low-tech weapons that will be used against Iraq.

• Los Angeles Times: An Old-Fashioned Fight

Background – Afghanistan – A review of Afghanistan’s progress over the last year.

• The Economist: The rebirth of a nation