American and British war planes bombed at least 10 Iraqi military installations close to the Kuwaiti border early today as almost 200,000 US and UK troops massed on the frontier, ready for invasion, write Conor O'Clery, in New York and Lara Marlowe, in Baghdad
"Military action in Iraq is imminent," the British government said last night. A Foreign Office statement warned of the increased risk of terrorist attacks against Britons and the possible use of chemical and biological weapons by Iraq.
US aircraft dropped some two million leaflets on 29 military and civilian sites in southern Iraq, urging Iraqi troops there to surrender to "avoid destruction".
The propaganda appeared to work - the Pentagon said 17 Iraqi soldiers stumbled across the border in two separate groups and gave themselves up to Kuwaiti police.
Blasts could be heard near the south-eastern city of Basra, where the US navy was also reported to have attacked a flotilla of wooden boats suspected of being on their way to attack the US fleet in the Gulf.
Earlier, coalition land forces and equipment stationed in the Kuwaiti desert were deployed north in apparent readiness for a full-blown invasion of Iraq.
As President Bush issued the US Congress with a legally required notification of war, his spokesman warned Americans of what could lie ahead.
"Americans have to be prepared for loss of life. Americans have to be prepared for the importance of disarming Saddam Hussein to protect the peace," said Mr Ari Fleischer.
"On the brink of war with Iraq, Americans should be prepared for what we hope will be as precise and short a conflict as possible, but there are many unknowns. It could be a matter of some duration, we do not know."
Mr Fleischer added that at 1 a.m. today, the world would know whether President Saddam had submitted to President Bush's ultimatum 48 hours earlier to leave Iraq with his family or be overthrown - or whether, in Mr Fleischer's words, he had "committed his final act of defiance".
Mr Bush has said the timing of the war will be of his choosing. At that moment, he is expected to make a televised address from the White House Oval Office.
In Baghdad, thousands of Iraqis fled towards the Jordanian and Syrian borders, paying taxi-drivers up to $1,200 for the journey. Although Iraq's Arab neighbours oppose the war, they are turning would-be refugees away.
In the city centre, dozens of blue-uniformed policemen wearing white braid over their shoulders milled around sand-bagged positions, inexplicably grinning.
The number of soldiers on the streets increased dramatically on previous days, but there are doubts about the determination of Iraqi troops to fight for the regime. One well-informed source predicted the regular army would fight, but that the majority of the so-called elite red berets and Republican Guards would run away.
Many government officials have sent their wives and children to the country.
City hospitals have empty beds to prepare for casualties. A severe wind and dust storm has left the sky grey and the air gritty.
By late yesterday, the streets were deserted, shops were shuttered, and people went home to wait. The government has given them six months of food rations.
Water and electricity supplies are a major concern. Power cuts have already started.
Wild rumours circulate. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tariq Aziz, a stalwart of the regime for three decades and a prime target of Mr Bush, had defected to Kurdistan. After much speculation, he called a press conference to dispel any doubts about his loyalty and his whereabouts.