Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff starts regional tour in Amman

The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry Shelton, began a visit to the region yesterday in the Jordanian capital, Amman, where he met today with King Abdullah, and his Jordanian counterpart to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.

Jordanian political sources said that following the death of King Hussein, the White House has worked to ratify additional U.S. aid for Jordan worth $300 million, specifying the greatest part of it for the Jordanian armed forces.

Shelton is to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman to hold talks with high-ranking officials in these countries before leaving for Thailand on Wednesday.