“Weeks ago, fearing a reprise of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Washington reportedly stationed hundreds of Marines to Sicily in the event they were required to protect the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. But these soldiers aren’t the only U.S. assets in the region guarding against contingencies.

In late June, thousands of U.S. service members wrapped up a 14-day annual multilateral military training exercise in Jordan known as ‘Eager Lion.’ At King Abdullah’s request, 900 of these American soldiers, a squadron of F-16s, and a Patriot Missile Battery have — according to President Obama — remained behind to support ‘the security of Jordan,’ a state increasingly threatened by spillover from the war in neighboring Syria. And should reinforcements be required, the Marine amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge is steaming off the coast of Aqaba.

While King Abdullah is no doubt pleased with the demonstration of U.S. commitment to Jordan’s stability, not everyone is applauding the deployment. Not surprisingly, Moscow — which supports Syria’s Assad regime — has said U.S. soldiers in the Kingdom ‘doesn’t help.’ Of more concern, however, is that many Jordanians themselves apparently oppose the presence of U.S. troops on Jordanian soil. Indeed, on April 22, 87 Jordanians of tribal origin — a cohort traditionally considered the monarch’s leading supporters — penned an open letter to the King condemning his decision and labeling U.S. troops on the ground as ‘a legitimate target for all honorable Jordanians.'”

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