US ‘Bought’ Jordan Escalation in Afghanistan

Ambassador Said US Could Get Jordanian Troops 'at Cost'

by Jason Ditz, January 31, 2011

Amongst the major escalations in the war in Afghanistan came the Jordanian government, which committed a growing amount of troops to the nation in 2010. The contribution, however, did not come for free.

Rather, the Obama Administration came at the cost of increased aid to the Jordanian government, in effect meaning the government was renting out its troops to the US as mercenaries to play a ro le in the ongoing Afghan occupation.

Jordanian officials appeared quite keen on offering major escalations in January of 2010, having already made it clear that any such offers would require payment in this regard.

Indeed, Ambassador Beecroft saw that the Jordanian government was so eager to make such a deal that he predicted that the US could secure the troops “at cost.” It is unclear, of course, exactly how much the Jordanian troops actually cost, so it is unclear if the US managed to get such a “good deal” on its troops.

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