WASHINGTON Ñ The United States has stored military equipment in
Jordan for use in any Middle East emergency, U.S. officials said.
They said the U.S.-Jordanian exercise that is
scheduled to begin next week will test the capability of quickly employing
the U.S. stockpile.
"I was advised that there's apparently an exercise taking place in
Jordan that's been long-scheduled and that part of it has to do with
pre-positioned stocks," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a news
briefing on Tuesday.
August 13, 2002 - 4,000 U.S. troops arriving in Jordan for major exercises
U.S. stockpiles have usually consisted of heavy weapons, ammunition and
supplies. The U.S. military has stockpiles in several countries in the
Middle East, including Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Gulf Cooperation Council
states, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Defense Department has reported contracting ships to send weapons
and defense systems to the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The ships are
transporting infantry fighting vehicles and armored recovery vehicles.
The officials said the exercise is taking place in southern Jordan near
the Iraqi border. They said the maneuvers were scheduled in 2001 before the
current U.S. tension with Baghdad.
U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the joint exercise, will
test the readiness of U.S. forces and its weapons in Jordan, officials said.
A defense official said the United States has a total of 7,000 military
personnel in the Hashemite kingdom, nearly double the number released by
Jordan. The officials said many of the U.S. nationals in Jordan are military
support personnel.
The exercise comes amid heightened Iraqi military activity. The
U.S.-based CNN network said the Iraqi military has moved anti-aircraft
batteries to the Baghdad area. The movement is regarded as the first
significant redeployment amid concerns of a U.S. attack on the regime of
President Saddam Hussein.
At the same time, the Washington Times reported increased activity
around a suspected Iraqi biological weapons facility. The newspaper said
U.S. spy satellites last week detected the arrival of 60 trucks to the Taji
factory, located 10 kilometers outside of Baghdad and which is suspected of
producing anthrax.