Has the US inaugurated a new CENTCOM Forward Command in Jordan , staffed allegedly by 237 US officers , specifically for the purpose of coordinating US intervention in Syria ( coordination to occur between US , Israel , Saudis and Jordan Air Force Commands in one section ..... US and Jordan special Forces in another section....another section set aside for CIA personnel ? ) Any truth to Debka forecast President Obama decision on Syria intervention could come as soon as several weeks - or just after the Labor Day holiday ? With the current state of affairs , the only way Assad can be removed is by intervention by the US , coupled with GCC aligned nations !

http://www.debka.com/article/23199/New-Centcom-underground-war-room-in-Amman-for-US-intervention-in-Syria

Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in Amman this week to inaugurate the Centcom’s Forward Command in Jordan manned by 273 US officers. US media correspondents were permitted to visit the new war room for the first time on condition of non-disclosure of its location and secret facilities. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the installation is bomb- and missile-proof against a possible Syrian attack. The US Air Force command section is in direct communication with the US, Israeli, Jordanian and Saudi Air Force headquarters ready for an order by President Barack Obama to impose a partial no-fly zone over Syrian air space.

Another section is designed to coordinate operations between US and Jordanian special forces, as well as the units trained in commando combat by US instructors in Jordan.  A closed section houses CIA personnel who control the work of US agents going in and out of Syria and also a communications center.

In his briefing to US forces Thursday, Aug. 15, Gen. Dempsey commented: “Jordan lives in a very volatile region and at a very critical time in its history. They can count on us to continue to be their partner.”

He suggested that the operation could continue well into next year or beyond.

Situated atop the underground facility is a large surface structure accommodating the American military and civilian offices dealing with Syrian issues from Jordan. It is guarded by US and Jordanian security units.

There are today some 1,000 US military personnel in the Hashemite Kingdom, plus a squadron of F-16 fighters and several Patriot anti-missile batteries strung along the Jordanian-Syrian border to shield Jordanian and American bases and the capital, Amman.

This special DEBKAfile video presentation illustrates US, Saudi, and Jordanian preparations for military intervention in the Syrian civil war and its likely repercussions. 

Obama’s final decision on US military intervention – consisting of a no fly and a buffer zone in Syria – is expected in the coming two to three weeks, depending on Dempsey’s recommendations upon his return to Washington after checking out preparations in Israel and Jordan. In neither operation will US boots touch Syrian soil.

The buffer zone in the south up to Damascus would be captured by 3,000 rebels trained in special operations tactics and armed by US forces in Jordan. Jordanian special forces are to spearhead the operation under US command.

Assad may take the fight outside his borders by launching missiles against Israel, Jordan and maybe Turkey.
Hizballah may join in with rocket attacks on Israel. Iran will beef up its active military presence in Syria and Jordan. And Russian Rapid Intervention units are on standby for saving Assad at their Black Sea and South Caucasian bases

Civilians killed in Syria checkpoint attack

Women among 11 killed in attack west of the city of Homs, activists and residents say. Last Modified: 17 Aug 2013 18:36

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war and 2 million have fled the country as refugees [AFP]

Syrian rebels have killed at least 11 people, including civilians, in an attack on a checkpoint west of the city of Homs. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that nine of those killed in the attack on Saturday were Christians. It said rebels attacked checkpoints manned by the pro-government National Defense Forces militia, killing five of them. It said the other six were civilians, including two women. A resident who visited the site of the overnight attack said he saw the remains of a destroyed checkpoint and two civilian cars nearby, whose passengers may have been caught up by chance in the fighting. The checkpoint had been used as an artillery base to bombard the rebel town of Hosn, about 2km away, which lies below the towering Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers, resident said. 'Massacre' Syrian official state media described the incident as a "massacre". Many Christians fleeing the violence in Homs city over the past two years have settled in the Christian villages around the area where Saturday's attack took place. More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war, which grew out of a 2011 uprising against 40 years of dynastic rule by the Assad family, and nearly 2 million more have fled the country as refugees.

As Islamist Rebels Rise in Syria, Liberal Activists Take a Step Back