U.S. will step up pressure on Syria

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is sending about 200 troops to Jordan, the vanguard of a potential U.S. military force of 20,000 or more that could be deployed if the Obama administration decides to intervene in Syria to secure chemical weapons arsenals or to prevent the 2-year-old civil war from spilling into neighboring nations. Troops from the 1st Armored Division will establish a small headquarters near Jordan’s border with Syria to help deliver humanitarian supplies for a growing flood of refugees and to plan for possible military operations, including a rapid buildup of American forces if the White House decides intervention is necessary, senior U.S. officials said. Although the Pentagon has sent Patriot missile batteries to Turkey and several dozen U.S. troops already are in Jordan to assist with aid flights and other operations, the move marks the first deployment that Pentagon officials explicitly described as a possible step toward direct military involvement in Syria. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who disclosed the deployment Wednesday in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, made it clear that he and President Barack Obama remained deeply wary of intervening in Syria just as U.S. forces are trying to withdraw from 12 years of war in Afghanistan. But U.S. officials say they have stepped up preparations because the Syrian civil war shows few signs of abating, and a political settlement that includes the departure of President Bashar Assad appears increasingly unlikely. “Military intervention is always an option, but it should be an option of last resort,” Hagel said. He said that a major deployment could “embroil the U.S. in a significant, lengthy and uncertain military commitment.” Forces loyal to Assad hold power in Damascus, the Syrian capital, and control large parts of other major cities. Rebel militias have made gains near the Turkish border in the north and in southern Dara province near Jordan. Assad’s forces are increasingly relying on air power and artillery to hold back the rebels, although reports from Syria in the last week suggest they may have been able to retake some territory in ground fighting in several areas. Among the most formidable of the many rebel factions fighting the government is Al Nusra Front, which recently acknowledged that it is aligned with al-Qaida. The strength of Al Nusra Front has deepened fear in Washington and in much of the Middle East that Assad’s stockpiles of poison gases and other chemical weapons agents could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists. The willingness of Jordan’s King Abdullah II to accept even a small number of U.S. troops reflects the growing concern about the spillover effects of the bloodletting. Jordan is one of Washington’s closest allies in the region, but it has no U.S. bases and has never allowed a sizable U.S. military presence, fearful it would spark domestic unrest. Even during the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq, which Jordan supported, the presence of U.S. special operations forces entering Iraq from Jordan was a closely held secret. But with Syria imploding and refugees streaming across the border, Jordanian officials have agreed to accept the U.S. contingent and are willing to consider a larger force, U.S. officials said. Hagel is scheduled to visit the Middle East next week, with stops in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Much of the trip is expected to focus on Syria. Until now, the Obama administration has chiefly provided humanitarian supplies and so-called nonlethal aid, such as communications gear, to rebel factions. Officials say U.S. military and intelligence personnel also have given nonlethal training to some Syrian groups at a camp in Jordan. The White House has refused calls by members of Congress to start providing weapons and ammunition to the rebels, to establish a no-fly zone to halt Syrian air attacks against civilian areas or to use U.S. troops to create a “humanitarian safe zone” in Syria. The first U.S. troops are likely to arrive in Jordan this month, but most will go in May. They will be based at a Jordanian military installation, an official said. The Pentagon has also made plans to expand the force to 20,000 or more if necessary, including special operations teams to find and secure Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles, U.S. air defense units to guard Jordan’s airspace and conventional military units capable of moving into Syria if necessary. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed in the war and more than 1 million have fled the fighting, according to United Nations officials. Many are now in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan.