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The Obama administration has now publicly announced that it deployed U.S. troops near the Syrian border in neighboring Jordan without ever seeking congressional permission, supposedly in an effort to help the Jordanian government deal with refugees from Syria while ensuring that the civil war does not spill over into the broader region. Concerns about chemical and biological weapons falling into the “wrong hands” were also cited to justify the latest deployment, but some lawmakers are upset, warning that the U.S. is now even closer to overt military intervention in Syria.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaking at a NATO conference in Brussels, said the Obama administration had been cooperating closely with the government of Jordan's King Abdullah II. Apparently both sides are concerned that Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles could end up in the hands of al- Qaeda-linked Islamic extremists currently battling the secular Bashar al-Assad regime with support from the Western establishment and assorted Sunni dictatorships.
"We continue to be concerned about security at those sites," Panetta said after the NATO meeting of defense chiefs. "We want to ensure that security is maintained and we want to be very sure that those [weapons] do not fall into the wrong hands." The embattled Syrian dictatorship has reportedly tried to secure its stockpiles, but fears about them remain, especially in neighboring Turkey. "They are obviously concerned about the (weapons storage) sites as well," Panetta said about the Turkish government. "So we've worked with them to do what we can to monitor the situation."
Also part of the U.S. mission, according to officials from both countries, is supporting the Jordanian government. "We have a group of our forces there, working to help them build a headquarters and to ensure that we make the relationship between the United States and Jordan a strong one so we can deal with all of the possible consequences," Panetta explained after the summit. "We've also been working with them to try to develop their own military and operational capabilities in the event of any contingency there."
Numerous reports have suggested small teams of U.S. and Western government forces may already be operating in Syria. It remains unclear exactly how large the now acknowledged U.S. government presence along the Syria-Jordan border may be, but news reports citing officials claimed there were some 150 American Special Operations troops as well as so-called “trainers.” Also uncertain is where the Obama administration believes it found the lawful or constitutional authority to deploy U.S. troops to Jordan or Syria.
Some lawmakers, though, are outraged that the administration apparently thinks it can simply deploy American forces wherever it pleases without even obtaining permission from Congress. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who blasted the decision, also warned that the lawless deployment means the U.S. government is now "immeasurably" closer to being directly and overtly involved in the long-running Syrian war.
"I can see in a moment how it happens: we're a few dozen miles from the Syrian border and all of a sudden we are within the reach of physical danger. All it takes is a single incident," Kucinich told U.S. News, adding that talk of weapons of mass destruction was an argument for trying to reduce the violence rather than intensify it. "Putting U.S. troops on that border draws the U.S. much closer to war in Syria, which is a nightmare already and can be more of a nightmare for our country."
According to Kucinich, who along with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has developed a reputation as one of the fiercest congressional critics of the bi-partisan war-mongering establishment, putting American troops on the border of a conflict area dramatically increases the potential for U.S. involvement. "There's a trail of causality here," he explained.
Despite the recent public announcements, however, American forces have been there for months. In fact, the Obama administration’s military scheming in Jordan related to the Syrian conflict has been underway since at least May. According to news reports, the U.S. government organized a massive “training exercise” with more than 10,000 troops from almost 20 countries in Jordan. American forces remained there after the exercise was finished.
“We have been working closely with our Jordanian partners on a variety of issues related to Syria for some time now,” Pentagon press secretary George Little was quoted as admitting by the New York Times, citing concerns about chemical and biological weapons. “As we’ve said before, we have been planning for various contingencies, both unilaterally and with our regional partners.”
Pointing to previously released “regime change” strategies for Syria developed by the U.S.-based Brookings Institution, analysts said the latest developments are actually part of a broader plan. Essentially, the positioning of American troops in Jordan along Syria’s southern border while Turkish troops and U.S. “intelligence” agencies focus on the northern border is meant to divert the Syrian military’s attention away from its opposition, allowing Western-backed Islamic extremists and rebel forces run wild within the nation.
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