US military chairman to reassure Israel, Jordan
With Egypt's military leading a hoped-for drive to democracy, President Barack Obama's senior military adviser was heading to the Mideast Saturday to reassure two key allies - Jordan, facing its own rumblings of civil unrest, and Israel, which sees its security at stake in a wider transformation of the Arab world.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was stopping first in Amman for meetings Sunday with senior Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah II. Jordan has seen five weeks of protests inspired by unrest in Tunisia and later Egypt, though the numbers of marchers has been decreasing. (AP)
