Our military is working with the Jordanians to be prepared to seize Syria’s chemical and biological weapons should (when) the Syrian regime fall (or some other catastrophe). Syria has a very large and perhaps dispersed WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction = chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons) storage arsenal.
It is generally accepted that they have nerve agents and mustard gas, most of it already placed in warheads (artillery shells, bombs, and SCUD missiles).
This partnership is nothing new. The Jordanians have a very capable commando force and we have worked with them before against Radical Islamic forces.
Some reports say that there may be about 50 sites; this would require a rather large force to secure the weapons in a timely manner. Indeed, CNN estimated that 75,000 troops would be necessary after a Pentagon briefing. Until a few years ago, the Syrians had a single primary site, located near the Iraqi border; it was to this site that Saddam send the bulk of his WMD just before our invasion. That site was taken out by the Israelis—thus the current dispersal.
There is little doubt that the Syrian WMD would create a very, very serious threat to the region and to the world if they fell into the hands of any of the terrorist groups.
