The United States military is installing a new command center at a heavily guarded base in Qatar, a small Persian Gulf state, that would be ready to serve as the main headquarters for a war on Iraq, New York Times reports.

The official purpose of the work at the base, As Sayliyah, is to prepare for a major American military exercise in December called Internal Look. But it will be no ordinary exercise. American officials told the New York Times that it will be the first time that a war game of its type has been conducted outside the United States and that the command and control procedures practiced would be the same used for a war with Iraq.

Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the head of the Central Command, is expected to arrive in about a week to take part in the exercise. About 750 staff members from the headquarters of the United States Central Command are also being sent. General Franks will participate along with top Army, Marine, Air Force, Navy and Special Operations commanders in the region.

Western officials say the United States has not yet formally asked the Qataris if it can run a war with Iraq from their country. The official line is that the United States is merely improving its military readiness while it waits to see if Iraq provides a complete account of its weapons programs and cooperates with United Nations inspectors.

Like many Persian Gulf states, Qatar is worried about the reaction in the Arab world to an American attack on Iraq and hopes that a conflict can be avoided. But the Qataris also view Washington as their main protector against external threats in a volatile region.

A tiny nation of about 750,000, Qatar operated in Saudi Arabia's shadow for years. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 jolted the Qataris, according to former Qatari officials and Western officials. Qatar saw that the Saudis were unable to defend themselves against a potential Iraqi threat, let alone protect other gulf states, those officials said. The Qataris saw that the Saudis had to invite the Americans to protect their kingdom. "They woke up to the fact that they needed superpower protection," a Western official said, referring to the Qataris.

Soon after the Persian Gulf war in 1991, the United States and Qatar quietly signed a defense cooperation agreement that provided Washington with what one official called a "big green light" to set up operations here. In recent years, Qatar has emerged as vital real estate for United States military strategy in the Persian Gulf.

One crucial base is As Sayliyah, a 262-acre installation completed in August 2000 at a cost of more than $100 million. The base has more than 20 climate-controlled warehouses, storing hundreds of M1 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles. It is capable of housing enough armored equipment for a heavy Army brigade. It includes a community center and living quarters for the approximately 300 American troops who have been permanently based there.