Washington ? The Pentagon is taking steps to prepare for a rapid massing of U.S. forces around Iraq in the weeks ahead, bolstering stocks of military equipment and ammunition in the Persian Gulf, expanding command facilities and preparing several Navy aircraft carriers in U.S. ports to steam to the region.

Defense officials have sought to keep the buildup as low-key as possible to avoid upstaging the delicate political and diplomatic maneuvering under way to win U.N. and congressional authorization for possible U.S. military action against the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Many of the military moves have come under the cover of training exercises or routine operations.

But they reflect a growing seriousness on the part of the Bush administration about the possibility of war with Iraq. Pentagon officials said the actions being taken now are meant to enable a faster deployment if President Bush decides to attack.

“We can do a certain amount of things now that will help shorten the time needed to get everything else in place later,” a senior defense official said Friday. “It doesn’t mean that we’re definitely going to do anything, but it hedges our bets.”