Turkish
Foreign Ministry officials have categorically denied media reports suggesting
that Washington has special forces stationed close to the Syrian border in
Turkey.
Speaking
on the condition of anonymity, sources denied the claim of British daily The
Times that American and French special forces have been at İncirlik airbase in
southern Turkey for weeks.
U.S.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed on Oct. 10 that a team of U.S.
military planners was in Jordan to help the government grapple with Syrian
refugees, bolster its military capabilities and prepare for any trouble with
its chemical weapons stockpiles.
"We
have been working with Jordan for a period of time now ... on a number of the
issues that have developed as a result of what's happened in Syria,"
Reuters quoted Panetta as saying in Brussels.
Panetta
said those issues included monitoring chemical weapons sites "to determine
how best to respond to any concerns in that area." A U.S. official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the small team of planners were not engaged in covert
operations and have been housed at the King Abdullah II Special Operations
Training Center, north of the capital of Amman, since the early summer.
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