War Drums: Jordan Wary of Potential US Attack on Syria

A day after chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey met with his counterparts from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada at a high-level meeting in Jordan, a top Jordanian spokesman insisted that “Jordan will not be a launching pad for any military action against Syria.”

Speaking on Aug. 28, Mohammad Momani, the country’s information minister said instead that the Jordanian government prefers a “diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis” that has driven over 500,000 Syrian refugees—about half of which are under 18 years old—into the north of his country.

“Our position regarding the Syrian crisis is based on our concern for Jordan’s higher national interests and our unfailing policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of our neighbors,” Momani added.

In June at the request of the government in Amman, the United States left a Patriot missile battery and four F-16 fighters in Jordan after an annual war game, and earlier this year deployed a US Army intelligence gathering team and counter-weapons of mass destruction team to Jordan to assist with watching the situation in Syria, and to train the Jordanian military in ways to deal with chemical weapons attacks.

 

 

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Paul McLeary

McLeary covers national security policies at the White House, Pentagon, the Hill, and State Department.
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