The surprise meeting came as the Turkish government announced it would call a new vote on the deployment of US troops in Turkey and overflight rights for US aircraft this week.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had hinted earlier that Ankara was leaning toward supporting the United States.

The US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a stalled plan to deploy up to 62,000 US troops in Turkey to open a second front in northern Iraq was certain to be a subject of discussion.

The United States also needs overflight rights to launch air strikes against Iraq from Turkish airspace.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said earlier that he expected Erdogan's government would send the matter back to parliament which rejected initially the proposal early this month.

"They are going to take it back to their parliament and they are trying to figure out the best way to do that," Powell said. "It may or may not fit in with our own timing is the issue."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that despite the late date, Washington still wanted Turkey's assistance, particularly on overflight rights and looked forward to the upcoming vote.

"We will hope that we'll be able to have Turkey's support in the days ahead," he said.

After a late-night meeting of the Turkish cabinet in Ankara, Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said early Wednesday the government would ask parliament to approve the US troop deployments, overflight rights and the dispatch of Turkish soldiers abroad.

He said the bill would be sent to lawmakers on Wednesday or Thursday.

The parliament voted on March 1 to reject a plan to let the United States use Turkish bases and airfields to mount an offensive against Iraq on the northern front. Erdogan has dragged his feet on bringing the matter before parliament for another vote.

But with Washington now on the brink of war, the prime minister's cabinet decided late Monday to speed up its consideration of a new parliamentary motion to reverse the earlier decision.

"Despite the differences (between Turkey and the United States) in the Iraqi crisis, the fundamental strategic and political reality is the alliance between Turkey and the United States," Erdogan told parliament.

"Our government considers it important to act in a manner appropriate to the importance and function of our alliance with the United States," he added.

US navy ships carrying tanks and other equipment have been idling off the coast of Turkey awaiting authorisation to deploy, while the US Army's 4th Infantry Division has cooled its heels in Fort Hood, Texas.

Senior Pentagon officials on Monday said that although discussions with Ankara continued, the United States was focused on other alternatives for a so-called "northern option."

At least eight US warships that fire Tomahawk cruise missiles have been moved from the eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea because of the absence of Turkish overflight permission.

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