Generals don’t talk like diplomats. Generals tend to be frank and practical. Sometimes a brief “military-to-military” exchange is more productive than an extended presidential summit. Hopefully, this was the case last week when Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Gen. Mashal al-Zaben, Jordan’s top military officer.

Al-Zaben reportedly had a long wish list for Dempsey: U.S. surveillance aircraft to help secure its border with Syria; help in coping with mass refugees from Syria; help with containing the cross-border chemical weapons threat, and much, much more.