A covert task force was sent to Jordan in case Syria loses control of its chemical weapons, US officials said. The team will be stationed at a base 35 miles from the Syrian border, making it the US military’s closest presence to the embattled nation. A 150-member team of planners and other military specialists was covertly deployed in Jordan to aid the country’s army with the influx of refugees across its tumultuous border with Syria, US officials told the New York Times. In addition to helping manage the 180,000 Syrian refugees estimated to have fled across the border, the task force will also reportedly weigh measures like establishing a border buffer zone and a humanitarian corridor.
The US personnel will be based in a training center north of the city of Amman, close to Syria’s southern border. The facility will become the US military’s foothold nearest to Syria, and could be used to launch an intervention if Washington changes its stance in the conflict. Both Washington and the Jordanian government declined to comment on the covert operation. Although the Obama administration’s officially opposes military intervention in Syria, Washington has pledged to supply ‘non-military’ aid to opposition forces and has been actively pushing for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad.
The US has previously used Jordan as a base for other Syria-related military activities. In May of this year, Washington held military drills in Jordan dubbed ‘Operation Eager Lion,’ which saw around 12,000 troops from several nations participate in undisclosed training exercises.
Continue Reading: Syria in the firing line? US deploys covert mission to Jordan — RT
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