March 3, 2012U.S. military weighs deploying elite forces at bases near Iraq
The U.S. military, in wake of its withdrawal from Iraq, has sought to establish a base in neighboring Jordan.
Officials said Central Command has sought to compensate for the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq in late 2011. They said Centcom wanted to deploy small elite forces at bases in countries that neighbor Iraq, including Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey.
Officials said the Defense Department and Central Command were considering expanding the U.S. military presence in Jordan. They said Amman and Washington were examining the feasibility of constructing a base in eastern Jordan for U.S. Special Operations Command.
“There has long been a U.S. military presence in Jordan that helped out with the war in Iraq,” an official said. “This would make the arrangement permanent.”
“We don’t have the means and nor do we want a major presence,” the official said. “But regional bases could make us much more effective in times of emergency.”
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Pentagon was discussing with Jordan and Turkey the prospect of establishing U.S. bases in the two Middle East states.
The newspaper said the proposed SOF bases would be prepared to respond to emergencies in Iraq as well as the Horn of Africa.
“Reports about additional U.S. force presence in Turkey are false,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Jan. 27. “We have had no such discussions with the Turkish government. The United States military deeply values its close relationship with the armed forces of Turkey, one of our closest allies and NATO partners.”
Kirby, however, did not rule out expanding the U.S. military presence in Jordan. Other officials said Jordan has been willing to host additional U.S. troops and assets as part of defense cooperation.
Officials said Washington has long regarded Jordan as a military training hub in the Middle East. They cited a $500 million facility outside Amman that trains U.S. and allied forces in counter-insurgency skills.
“The idea is that Jordan would benefit from any base that we build, and much of the time there would be joint training,” the official said. “The base would be deep in the desert where we would not be noticed.”
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