The United States government would have you believe the military base in Jordan where three soldiers were killed in a drone strike is a mere "logistics support base." In truth, the facility also serves as a base for US drones used to conduct reconnaissance and target identification in Syria and Iraq, according to a report from The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein.
The base in Jordan, which is called Tower 22, is positioned just six miles from the Syrian border, and close to the Al-Tanf base where US servicemembers are based inside Syria. After a Jan. 28 drone attack on Tower 22 killed three soldiers and wounded dozens more, US Central Command described the facility as a "logistics support base" housing some 350 Army and Air Force personnel.
AFP via Barron's
However, an Air Force airman who was recently stationed at Tower 22 tells The Intercept there's much more to the base than managing supplies:
To call Tower 22 a logistics support base is complete bullshit. The main purpose of Tower 22 is to operate drones to spy on insurgents in Iraq and Syria, for targeting purposes. The main objective I witnessed was taking out targets.
According to the airman, intelligence collected in Tower 22's drone operations is used by USAF units at other bases, including Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, to carry out airstrikes in the region