Jordan and the United States are secretly negotiating a deal to let U.S. forces use the kingdom to defend Israel from Iraqi missiles, according to Western diplomats and Jordanian officials, quoted by Newsday.
According to the sources, the United States will guarantee the replacement of cheap oil supplies that Jordan now gets from Iraq.
The kingdom has not publicly agreed to cooperate with U.S. attack on Iraq, but privately, the Jordanian leadership has decided to work with Washington, the report said.
As part of an agreement still being worked out, U.S. forces would operate covertly from Jordan's eastern desert to attack mobile missile batteries in western Iraq that Saddam Hussein could launch on Israel, the newspaper said Thursday. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
