Australia has not yet decided whether to join in any attack on Iraq and says the deployment of HMAS Kanimbla is to allow the 350 troops on board to acclimatize to Middle East conditions in case they are needed.

Protesters gathered outside the gates of the wharf just metres from the departing ship, chanting "No war" and waving placards reading "No blood for oil."

On board, the troops clutched their children and cried alongside their families as Prime Minister John Howard fare welled the ship.

A public opinion poll last week showed 62 per cent of Australians oppose sending troops to join an invasion of Iraq without United Nations (UN) approval, compared to just 6 per cent of respondents who said UN backing was not essential.

A third said they would not support a war on Iraq under any circumstances.

Opposition lawmakers also oppose deployment without UN backing for war, but Howard said the troops needed time to prepare for any action.

"I don't think it's fair to the troops to expect them at the last minute - if we were to decide to send them as part of the UN force or hypothetically in any circumstances - not to have pre-positioned them," Howard said in a radio interview within minutes of the ship's departure.

"You can always bring the troops home if you decide not to take the action."

The Australian deployment adds to a build-up of more than 100,000 US ground troops and 30,000 British troops in the Middle East in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq, which the United States alleges has weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush turned up the rhetorical heat on Baghdad to disarm as key Washington allies France and Germany said "all must be done" to avoid war.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sounded a defiant note, vowing any invader "will find a people all of whose men and women have vowed not to allow them to pass by."

In an interview on Wednesday night with ABC News, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Saddam would not leave his country to avoid a US attack. His comments followed media reports that Arab states could be working behind the scenes to arrange exile for Saddam or encourage a coup.

Diplomats at the UN said Germany was expected to ask UN arms inspectors to deliver another report on Baghdad's co-operation in mid-February when Berlin holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.

The extra report could delay international backing for any US decision to invade Iraq and would be supported by France, which has joined Germany in strong opposition to a war before the inspectors have more time to do their work.

The inspectors, who say they need several more months to search for evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, are scheduled on Monday to make a key report to the UN on the extent of Iraqi co-operation.

Chief UN inspector Hans Blix said Iraq had still not divulged enough data on its weapons programmes and had so far prevented him from holding private interviews with scientists.

Blix, back at UN headquarters after visiting Baghdad, said, however, that Iraq had generally opened up to inspectors, who had not found "any hidden large quantities of anything."

Top Democrats on Capitol Hill urged Bush to cool the war rhetoric and seek more support from allies and the American people.

The news came the same day as gold soared to its most expensive in six years yesterday as fears of war increased, prompting speculators to snap up the precious metal.

Urged by tough talk from Bush, many investors have jumped into gold as a safe haven in a time of conflict, convinced of a growing momentum towards war, dealers said.

"Geopolitics are a kicker for gold at the moment," said Harry Adams, managing director of Australian mining house Gympie Gold Ltd.

Gold hit US$364.00/US$365.00 an ounce in Hong Kong as Asian centres reported frantic trading. It was bullion's highest price since January 1997.

(Poeple's Daily January 25, 2003)