Special to WorldTribune.com

AMMAN — The United States intends to send hundreds of troops to
Jordan amid the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Officials said the U.S. military has approved plans to deploy at least
200 soldiers in Jordan in 2013. They said the U.S. soldiers would help
Jordan secure its northern border with Syria as well as
monitor the war against President Bashar Assad.

“The deployment of the troops is part of U.S.-Jordanian military
cooperation to boost the Jordanian armed forces in light of the
deteriorating situation in Syria,” Jordanian Information Minister Mohammed Momani said.

In remarks on April 17, Momani did not say when the U.S. soldiers would
arrive in the Hashemite kingdom. He said the U.S. military deployment
reflected what he termed the “deteriorating situation” in Syria.

Later, U.S. officials confirmed the report from Jordan and said the
deployment was meant to prepare the kingdom for war with Syria. CNN
television said the decision was issued by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on April 15, and that the Army personnel would include specialists in
communications and intelligence. On April 17, Hagel informed Congress of the decision.

“It is a well-trained, well-coordinated team that can be the nucleus of
further mission planning and growth of the command and control element,
should that be ordered,” an official was quoted by the U.S. daily Wall
Street Journal on April 18.

Over the last month, Syria, including Assad, has threatened Jordan for
its support of the rebels. In an interview on Syrian television on April 17,
Assad warned that the war in Syria could spread to neighboring countries.

“The fire does not stop at our borders and everyone knows that Jordan is
exposed to it as is Syria,” Assad said.

Officials said the U.S. troops would come from the Army’s 1st Armored
Division based at Fort Bliss, Texas. They said the U.S. military was prepared to
protect rebel-held buffer zones near the border with Jordan and Turkey.

“Military intervention at this point could hinder humanitarian relief
operations,” Hagel, who begins a Middle East tour on April 20, told the
Senate Armed Services Committee. “It could embroil the United States in a significant, lengthy and uncertain commitment.”

  Bashar Assad, Chuck Hagel, Mohammed Momani, U.S. Army 1st Armored Division, U.S. to send 200 troops to Jordan