Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Congress is singling out Jordan for extra attention in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) even as it stops short of guaranteeing any additional funding.

House Defense appropriators released a 2016 fiscal year spending bill on May 19 that authorizes the Department of Defense to reserve War on Terrorism money for Jordan. The bill calls on the Pentagon to assist with "supporting and enhancing efforts of the armed forces of Jordan."

"The legislation provides $88.4 billion for the Global War on Terrorism," the committee said in a press statement. "This funding ... provides critical support to our key allies, such as Ukraine and Jordan, to resist aggression."

Separately, the appropriations bill also carves out $715 million to train and equip Iraqi forces over the next two years. The assistance includes "training, equipment, logistics support, supplies and services, stipends, infrastructure repair, renovation and sustainment to military and other security forces of or associated with the Government of Iraq, including Kurdish and tribal security forces or other local security forces, with a national security mission."

It also sets aside $600 million to help train and equip vetted Syrian rebel groups through FY 2017. That provision largely mirrors past appropriations for the program, including an assessment of links to Sunni terror groups and Shiite militias with ties to Iran or Syria and a ban on the "procurement or transfer of man-portable air-defense systems."

The focus on Jordan comes in the wake of King Abdullah's February visit, during which he pressed the United States to expedite the delivery of aircraft equipment and munitions to battle the self-proclaimed IS following the slaying of a captured Jordanian pilot.

That same month Secretary of State John Kerry signed a multiyear aid package with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh that calls for an increase in annual US assistance from $600 million to $1 billion. The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed legislation in April to authorize — but not fund — the proposed spending boost and speed up shipments of advanced US weapons to Jordan.

The spending bill introduced on May 19 appropriates $2.1 billion for a White House-proposed Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF), in line with the FY 2016 request from the Pentagon. Section 9013 of the legislation authorizes — but does not require — the department to spend up to $600 million of that funding "to provide assistance, to the Government of Jordan for purposes of supporting and enhancing efforts of the armed forces of Jordan and to sustain security along the border of Jordan with Syria and Iraq."

The bill also sets aside $1.26 billion to "reimburse key cooperating nations for logistical, military and other support, including access" for US operations against IS and in Afghanistan. Jordan is authorized to benefit from those funds, at a level to be determined by the Defense Department, to "maintain the ability of the Jordanian armed forces to maintain security along the border between Jordan and Syria."

Al-Monitor