AMMAN Ñ The United States plans to recruit its Arab allies for a
military exercise in Jordan.
Jordanian officials said the exercise would take place in the southern
part of the kingdom in November, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the maneuvers would include
forces from Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
"These are routine exercises set by previous agreements and are not
connected to any U.S. plan to attack Iraq," Jordanian Information Minister
Mohammed Adwan said on Sunday.
Adwan did not disclose the size, duration of the exercise. The minister
did not detail the aims of the maneuvers or the type of forces that will
participate. Instead, the minister said the exercise would be of limited
duration and that U.S. forces would leave immediately following the end of
the maneuvers.
Officials said the exercise will take place far from the Iraqi border.
They did not elaborate.
Earlier this month, the United States ended a large-scale special
operation forces exercise in southern Jordan. About 4,000 U.S. soldiers
participated in the exercise and left the kingdom on Sept. 8.
On Sunday, U.S. warplanes attacked an Iraqi airport outside the southern
city of Basra for the second time in a week. The combat jets targeted radar
systems and a terminal.
The attack came on the eve of the visit by Jordan's King Abdullah to
Kuwait. Officials from both countries said Abdullah would discuss
with his Kuwaiti hosts preparations for any U.S.-led war
against Iraq and the prospect of a missile counterattack by Baghdad.
