After more than a decade of war in Afghanistan, the Obama administration is considering a troop surge that could last two to three years after the projected 2014 pullout date. It’s part of a broader regional engagement that could also send more U.S. troops to Jordan to help rebels in the fight to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In a recent report for the Center for a New American Security, retired Gen. John Allen advocated another troop surge in Afghanistan after 2014. The recommendation is currently being considered by the Pentagon, which may heed the general’s advice by adding a secondary “bridging force” on top of the deployment already planned for the nominally “post-war” period.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the U.S. presence has already increased markedly since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. The recent deployment of a Patriot missile battery and a number of F-16 warplanes to Jordan has been declared a military exercise unrelated to the ongoing war in neighboring Syria.
It’s part of an already-robust aid package to the Hashemite Kingdom, considered a strong U.S. ally in the region.
The Congressional Research Service reports that total U.S. aid to Jordan through fiscal year 2012 amounted to approximately $13.1 billion. Washington has long claimed that Jordan is a crucial ally in the region and an important broker in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
The country could now play an important role in absorbing refugees and training rebels to continue fighting the central government in Damascus.
There are already 200 U.S. soldiers in Jordan working as army planners. This includes training rebels in camps in northern Jordan for deployment in Syria. Anti-war.com reports that the U.S. has been sending more ground troops to Jordan to operate a training camp for Syrian rebels.
Thousands of foreign fighters representing radical Sunni terrorist groups are thought to be among those fighting to oust Assad.
The fighters come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and even European countries with the purpose of overthrowing Assad and establishing a government that represents Sunni interests. Some represent al-Qaida and extreme Sunni groups calling for a new government based upon a Salafist version of Shariah law.
Some Jordanians have protested the recent U.S. troop deployment, believing that the buildup could eventually lead to Jordanian involvement in a war with Syria. The Hashemite Kingdom’s resources have already been stretched thin after absorbing more than 120,000 Syrian refugees over the course of the conflict.
As the conflict enters its third year, the United Nations says the death toll has increased to at least 80,000, raising the prospect of regional war. Tensions have risen in recent months after allegations surfaced in April that Assad had used chemical weapons. The United Nations has not issued a definitive allegation as to who used the weapons and in what capacity.
Assad has received help from Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite organization considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel. Roughly 1,200 Hezbollah fighters are now on the ground, fighting to protect the embattled government.