Troops head to Jordan

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is sending about 200 soldiers from an Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to ensure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress on Wednesday.

The decision to dispatch the First Armored Division troops of planners and specialists in intelligence, logistics, and operations comes as several lawmakers pressed the Obama administration for even more aggressive steps to end the two-year civil war.

Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, faced persistent questions from senior members of the Armed Services Committee about efforts to force out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Pentagon leaders made clear that the situation was extremely complicated and that they must be certain of the endgame before any military step to try to end the bloodshed.

"You better be damned sure," Hagel said. "No-fly zone, safe zone. Once you're in, you can't unwind it."

Dempsey said he had spent a significant portion of his adult life trying to figure out the Mideast. "This is the toughest of all," he said.

Hagel said the fresh troops would replace a similar number of U.S. forces that have been in Jordan for some months. They also will provide leadership personnel that could command additional forces if it is determined they are needed in the future.

"Currently, the U.S. forces assisting Jordan now are troops pulled from various units and places," he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said that sending a unit that has already served together improves its ability to work as a team.

The unit is based at Fort Bliss, Texas.

In Jordan, Information Minister Mohammed Momani confirmed that they would receive 200 American troops as it struggles with the Syrian civil war to its north.

"They will be here to bolster our training and defense capabilities in light of the deterioration in Syria," Momani told the AP.

He said dispatching U.S. forces to the kingdom was coordinated with the Jordanian government.

President Obama has insisted Assad must go but has cautioned about sending military aid to opposition forces, which could extend the fighting and unintentionally arm extremists.

Dempsey was asked by Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) whether he is confident that U.S. forces could secure the chemical-weapons caches within Syria.

"Not as I sit here today, simply because they've been moving it and the number of sites is quite numerous," Dempsey replied.