By LOLITA C. BALDOR and PAULINE JELINEK
BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States
has sent military troops to the Jordan-Syria border to bolster that
country's military capabilities in the event that violence escalates
along its border with Syria, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
Speaking at a NATO conference of defense ministers in Brussels, Panetta said the U.S. has been working with Jordan
to monitor chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria and also to
help Jordan deal with refugees pouring over the border from Syria. The
troops are also building a headquarters for themselves.
But
the revelation of U.S. military personnel so close to the 19-month-old
Syrian conflict suggests an escalation in the U.S. military involvement
in the conflict, even as Washington pushes back on any suggestion of a
direct intervention in Syria.
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