Jordan to Spearhead KSA’s Arms Drive to Syria Rebels

Local Editor

The Guardian British daily reported Monday that Jordan agreed to spearhead a Saudi-led push to arm rebel groups through its borders into southern Syria.

According to the daily, the move coincides with the transfer from Riyadh to Amman of more than $1bn.

It marks a significant change for Jordan, from a policy of trying to contain the spillover threat posed by Syria war across its border to one of actively aiming to end it before it engulfs the cash-strapped kingdom.

Jordan's role as a conduit for arms has emerged in the past two months as Saudi Arabia, some Gulf states, Britain and the US have sharply increased their backing of some rebels.
Officials in Amman concede it heightens a risk of retaliation from its increasingly cornered neighbor.

Western and Arab diplomats say Jordan is treating al-Qaeda's rise in prominence as an increasing existential threat. Security figures in the kingdom also fear a boost to the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which has long been at odds with the monarchy and boycotted this year's parliamentary elections.
Jordanian, Syrian opposition and western sources say Abdullah's calculation is that the sooner the Syrian crisis is over and the "moderate" rebels are able to defeat al-Assad, the better the chances are of a "moderate" regime taking over in Damascus. "It's a race between them [al-Qaeda] and the regular rebels to Damascus," said one western official, adding "And it's in no one's interests if al-Qaeda win."

Light and medium-sized weapons and funds have recently been sent across the Jordanian border to Syrian rebel groups vetted by the CIA, which has run a training program inside Jordan since early 2012. Some of the weapons were sourced from Croatia over the past year by the Jordanian air force.

While not explicitly conditional, the Saudi money is the first for Jordan in more than a year. Jordan historically received backing from wealthy patrons in the Gulf, as well as the US.
The Jordanian industry minister, Hatem al-Halawani, said at a recent conference in Qatar established to support the Syrian rebels that the amount transferred from Riyadh totaled $1.25bn.

In 2011, Jordan is believed to have received $1.4bn from Saudi Arabia but in 2012 failed to gain any of the $1bn payment expected. It has had just $200m so far this year.
Last week, a government spokesman said Jordan was "not part of the crisis" in Syria and supported a political solution.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org