Dempsey Visits Jordan for Consultations

Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday for meetings with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and other senior Jordanian officials on the civil war in Syria and other security topics. As of late July, the Syria conflict has claimed some 100,000 lives and generated more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees, many of whom are living in camps in northern Jordan. The United States wants to continue to build the capacity of its allies in the region to respond to the Syria crisis, said Dempsey, such as through NATO channels in Turkey, military-to-military ties with the Lebanese armed forces, and activities with Jordan. “I want to understand how [Jordan] see the issues—both emanating out of Syria, but also emanating out of Egypt—affecting their plans moving forward,” said Dempsey of the goals of his visit. It follows the multinational exercise Eager Lion 2013, which Jordan hosted in June, and Air Force F-16s and Army Patriot missile batteries deploying there. Jordan is the second leg of Dempsey’s Mideast trip following Israel. (Includes AFPS report by Karen Parrish)