TEHRAN -- U.S. forces continue to pour into bases in the Persian Gulf under the false pretext of getting prepared to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Just weeks ago, hundreds of U.S. forc es took part in a joint maneuver in Kuwait, and now U.S. top military brass have announced new plans to begin another joint maneuver in December, this time with Qatar. One thousand U.S. troops, including high-ranking U.S. commanders like Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of the U.S. Central Command in the Middle East in addition to the chiefs of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force are scheduled to participate in the maneuver.

After Washington's disappointment over the denial of free access to its two important air bases in Saudi Arabia for the imminent attack on Iraq, it pushed ahead with transforming the Al-Adid Base in Qatar into an advanced military compound with state-of-art equipment and expanded the Al-Doha Base in Kuwait. The Al-Adid Base was an insignificant U.S. installation with very limited activity two years ago. However, since then the deployment of high-tech command and control equipment along with its 28 hangars have made it one of the important U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf. Of the 60,000 U.S. military forces deployed in the region, some 4000 troops are stationed at the Al-Adid Base.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials have decided to transfer a large amount of equipment from its Central Command Headquarters in Florida to the Al-Adid Base in Qatar. Actually, through this move Washington wants to convey its dissatisfaction over Saudi Arabia's refusal to allow U.S. forces to use its bases by making Al-Adid its main base in the region in place of the Sultan Base in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, the Qatari leaders' lust to become the United States' strategic partner in the Persian Gulf has given the White House the chance to take advantage of the disunity among Arab countries and consolidate its position in the Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials are definitely looking for any excuse to gain control over the area, and the ballyhoo over the danger of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is only a fabrication and should be regarded in the same context. Through the use of the scenario about non-existent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, U.S. forces have been deployed throughout the region and now control all the sensitive points. The U.S. plan is to turn the area into a huge U.S. military installation for easy and cheap access to the oil and gas fields of the region.

On the other hand, aspirations for freedom are increasing and resentment toward the U.S. is on the rise among people of the region, causing anxiety for White House officials about how to continue plundering the area in the future. For this very reason, Washington is determined to consolidate its presence in the region in every conceivable way.