U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday announced that the Pentagon will deploy about 200 military planners to help Jordan defend its border with the war-torn Syria.

Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the planners will enhance efforts of a small U.S. military team that has been operating in Jordan since last year in planning related to chemical weapons and preventing a spillover of violence across the border with Syria, where rebel forces have been fighting to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad for the past two years.

"These personnel will continue to work alongside Jordanian Armed Forces to improve readiness and prepare for a number of scenarios," Hagel said before the Committee.

The military planners, including specialists in intelligence, logistics and operations, will provide training and equipment to detect and stop chemical weapons transfers along the Jordanian- Syrian border and increase Jordan's capacity to identify and secure such weapons, Hagel said.

The planners, from the 1st Armored Division Headquarters based at Fort Bliss, Texas, could also provide leadership personnel in case of need in the future, he added.

While the U.S. government has strongly urged Assad to step down to pave the way for political transition in Syria, it has so far refused to provide lethal military aid to Syrian opposition because such weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

Fearing that chemical weapons could be used in the conflict in Syria or smuggled out of the country to threaten the security of Syria's neighbors, Washington has set the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" for it to intervene in the Syrian crisis militarily.

Stressing that "a negotiated, political transition" is the best outcome for Syria, Hagel said Washington is working to mobilize the international community to further isolate the Assad regime and support the Syrian opposition.

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that Hagel is to pay his first visit to the Middle East from April 20-27, which will take him to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's nuclear program and the Syrian crisis are expected to dominate Hagel's talks with officials of those countries. Endi