Given the deteriorating security situation in Syria, many Americans have likely been wondering when US troops will be sent into the region. Here are two links that reveal they already have been sent to the area. Indeed, they have been there since May. However, they are not on the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey has a large and capable army and I think they would be a formidable match for the Syrian army if Syria provokes hostilities along that border. Especially since tens of thousands of Syrian rebels would fight alongside the Turks.
The US troops, about 150 of them, are stationed near the Jordanian-Syrian border. Reportedly consisting of headquarters/logistics/communications troops, they are surely stationed there as a “tripwire” force—one that signals to Syria that many more American military assets will come to that region if the advance contingent of American troops are endangered by Syrian actions. The message to Syria is “Stay out of Jordan!” I suspect that Jordan (and Saudi Arabia) requested this tripwire American military presence on Jordanian soil as a warning to the Syrians. Obviously, they wouldn’t be on Jordanian soil if they weren’t wanted there. The USA (in my opinion) did the right thing to respond in the affirmative to the presumed Jordanian and Syrian requests. The USA is stretched rather thinly for additional ground forces, but substantial US air force assets could be placed at Jordanian and Saudi airfields very quickly if those nations needed assistance.
The fact that American troops have been near the Syrian border for about five months was generally not known until the New York Times broke the story (see first link). The second link confirms the story, but it also includes segments about tactical details of the battles between Syrian regime forces and Syrian rebels, coordination meetings between Saudi Arabia and Qatar on the Mideast situation, etc.
Also, I would like to point out that the information in these links describes the Jordanian-Syrian border as “porous.” The presence of a small American base in that region working with friendly Jordanian and Saudi forces also provides an ideal environment for smuggling weapons to Syrian rebels and also the placement of special forces contingents into Syria as needed.
One final point. The hitherto-not-revealed US base in Jordan is located along what would presumably be the air route followed by Israeli warplanes if Israel finally decides that they cannot put off a strike vs. Iranian nuclear facilities any longer. It is no secret the Obama administration has putting the “brake pedal” on Israeli plans to attack Iran and that Israel has declared that they may/will attack Iran without any advance notification to the USA (most likely because they do not trust the Obama administration to keep it secret). I wonder if there are any sophisticated radars at this secretive US base in Jordan which has radars monitoring all air traffic coming out of Israel as well as air activities within Syria?
