Posted on 01/30/2003 10:28:19 AM PST by areafiftyone
Jordan has agreed to base U.S. troops in the kingdom and to allow the United States to use Jordanian airspace if Washington launches a war against Iraq, Jordanian-based diplomats said Thursday.
Also, the United States will provide Jordan with three anti-missile batteries in advance of any attack on Iraq, Jordanian officials said.
The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. troop presence initially would be limited to search and rescue operations but could expand in the course of any war to include attack forces against Western Iraq from along the Jordanian border.
There is strong resistance to a U.S.-led attack on Iraq among Jordanians and the government has sought to portray itself as uninvolved in any preparations for war.
Iraq is Jordan's key trading partner and eastern neighbor, and Jordan is home to a large Iraqi expatriate community.
Iraq's Arab neighbors have called on the United States to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff over whether Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction. But with the United States appearing determined to attack Iraq, claiming the U.N. inspection regime had failed, many Arab countries appear resigned to war and are blaming President Saddam Hussein.
The Patriot anti-missile batteries, to be delivered to Jordan within a few days, will be deployed mostly along the eastern frontier with Iraq, the Jordanian officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They declined to disclose other details.
In the 1991 Gulf war, Iraq violated Jordanian airspace when it launched 39 Scud missiles at Israel. Jordan refused to join the U.S.-led coalition in that fight.
Last week, Jordan's army chief asked Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. Central Command, to provide the kingdom with the anti-missile batteries. Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb has said Jordan will rely on surface-to-air missiles to defend its airspace in the event Israel and Iraq lobbed missiles at each other.
Jordan had negotiated an air-defense deal with Russia, which failed to deliver quickly enough.
There was no immediate confirmation on the Patriot deal from Washington, which delivered six F-16 fighter jets to Jordan on Wednesday in the first batch of a donation of 16 attack aircraft to bolster Jordanian defense capabilities.
Jordan is a key U.S. ally in the Mideast, but has crucial business ties with Iraq. Trade with Baghdad amounted to $700 million last year. The kingdom also receives all its daily requirement of 90,000 barrels of oil from Baghdad half of it at preferential prices and the rest as a gift from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Jordanians are bound by close geographic, social, cultural and religious ties with Iraq and are sympathetic to the Iraqis, who blame 12 years of U.N. sanctions for the death of tens of thousands of people.
King Abdullah II, who has said Jordan will not be a launching pad for an attack on Iraq, recently said chances of averting war with Iraq have "become slim."
And you are right when you call Abdullah's selection a "slight" -- it was considered a slight to Muslims in Jordan who never wanted Abdullah to rule Jordan because his mother was a Christian.
The U.S. has had a good relationship with Jordan over the years because Jordan is the most forward-thinking, pro-Western Islamic nation in the Middle East. And I'll g one step further -- I think King Hussein was also one of the most noble, principled leaders in the world over the last 100 years.
"He may be a prince, but I'm the kind of the lunch room!"
Don't get your knickers in a twist. Sorry you feel that way about her!
Didn't he side with Iraq during the Gulf War?
You have to remember that King Hussein was always seen as a voice of reason in a very turbulent region. He was never one to burn any bridges. In fact, I've speculated here that this time it will be King Abdullah who eventually convinces Saddam Hussein to go into exile rather than make a stand in Iraq.
I hope for the sake of the men and women in our military you're right about that.
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