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U.S. stockpiling military equipment in Jordan

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, August 14, 2002

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.

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