Contingent of Marines to head to Kuwait

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some 4,000 U.S. Marines will soon be in Kuwait to participate in training exercises, according to a senior Pentagon official.

The Marines will be participating in an ongoing training exercise with the Kuwaiti armed forces known as "Operation Desert Spring."

"Operation Desert Spring" is a joint U.S.-Kuwait military exercise ongoing since the end of the Gulf War continually training forces for the defense of Kuwait.

Diplomatic sources told Reuters Monday the head of the U.S. forces in the wider region, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, is due in Kuwait Wednesday where troops are conducting annual exercises as part of "Desert Spring" close to Iraq's border.

He will head a conference of Central Command (CENTCOM) commanders, including those in Afghanistan and the Gulf area.

But the sources played down the significance of the talks after Washington warned Baghdad of military action if it failed to meet United Nations resolutions and halt its alleged production in arms of mass destruction. Iraq denies the charge.

"These meetings are pre-scheduled and should not be seen in the context of the situation with Iraq," said a diplomatic source familiar with the conference.

Earlier this month military officials confirmed that the Navy has booked a cargo ship in the port of Savannah, Georgia to carry military equipment from the Army's Third Infantry Division to Kuwait for a planned rotation of troops for the same exercise.

The number of U.S. troops currently training in Kuwait has grown to nearly 10,000, not including the Marine contingency, more than double the number that have taken part in past exercises.