I don’t understand why the US continues to pledge assistance to countries that offer no quid pro quo. The US is sending Patriot Missiles and troops to Jordan and have made commitments of monetary compensation but Jordan won’t let us use their airspace. It seems like this is the pattern all over the globe. Why the hell do we continue to do stuff like this?
Consider it like a sports trade.
We help Jordan now with no apparent respond in kind, for a draft pick to be determined later. In short, we do them a favor now and when we want something in the future they cannot refuse it.
Remember in the Gulf War when Bush the First arrayed a coalition against Iraq which included Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey? To where did a lot of the Iraqis retreat, including much of Iraq’s MiG 29 fleet?
Iran, the only bordering country which was not officially arrayed against Iraq.
In preparing for this latest and apparently inevitable war, one of the most important things the US has to do is ensure total border enclosure. That’s of course assuming that preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is actually a primary objective in this war.
While the United States may wish for active participation on the part of the nations which border Iraq, it’s actually much more important to ensure that those countries will strongly patrol their own borders in order to prevent the movement of weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq.
You can expect similar concessions and/or bribes to be made to the Syrians and to Saudi Arabia. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a certain card-carrying Evil nation isn’t wooed in some sort of way as well. Otherwise, the super-scary weapons which America fears so much may find their way out of Iraq and into the hands of terrorists.
Well, as I understand it the biggest threat from Iraq to US troops and their allies is a WMD missile attack. The most likely friendly country attacked? Israel. Where is Jordan? That’s right: between Iraq and Israel.
Just my WAG…
Another perspective might be: If you’re going to start a gunfight in my neighborhood, you owe me a bullet-proof vest whether I participate or not.
(1) It is fairly well reported that the US has been using Jordan to stage special ops already.
(2) It was reported at least once that Jordan is “hosting” several key al-Quedaites in some state-run facilities.
(3) Who’s to say that the US will not overfly Jordan? I know where my money is.
The real question, is why send Patriots to Jordan when Patriots don’t work?
You are referring to Patriots in Gulf War I.
Unless someone has been twiddling their thimbs for 12 years, it is my understanding the deployed Patriots are nothing like their earlier namesakes.
Time will shortly tell.
… Such as me when it comes to spell-checking! :smack: