3 New Messages
Digest #4728
Messages
Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:23 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.globaltimes.cn/
Global Times
June 18, 2013
US, Russia square off over Syria conflict
By Wang Zhaokun
US President Barack Obama met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday at the G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, as the two leaders sought to narrow their differences on the Syrian conflict that was set to top the conference's agenda.
The meeting between Obama and Putin at the summit of some of the world's most powerful nations came days after the US alleged that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict and announced that it would offer direct military support to the Syrian rebels.
China said Monday the Syrian issue can only be solved via political means, urging the relevant parties to push for a political solution and not take actions that could lead to further militarization of the crisis.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Monday his country will not permit no-fly zones to be imposed over Syria.
"I think we fundamentally will not allow this scenario," Lukashevich said, according to Reuters. "All these maneuvers about no-fly zones and humanitarian corridors are a direct consequence of a lack of respect for international law."
Summit host British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday his priority was to ensure that a peace conference on the Syria conflict take place later this year, according to an AFP report.
Speaking to reporters in London after his Sunday meeting with Cameron, Putin voiced Russia's disapproval of the US plan to arm the Syrian rebels.
"One does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras," Putin said, referring to video released last month showing a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart of a dead soldier, Reuters reported.
Putin also insisted that Moscow had abided by international law when supplying weapons to Syria. "We are not breaching any rules and norms and we call on all our partners to act in the same fashion," he said.
Russia said earlier this month that it had not yet delivered the S-300 missiles, fearing that this would "disturb the balance in the region."
Russia is unlikely to make concessions on the Syrian issue at the summit, Xiao Xian, head of the Institute of International Studies at China's Yunnan University, told the Global Times.
"I don't think there will be any major breakthrough on the issue following the discussion by the two sides through the conference as Russia and the West hold entirely different views on the Syrian government and rebels," he said.
"And now more importantly, Assad's forces have already seized the initiative in its fight against the militants at home. So under the circumstances, Russia would of course dig its heels in," Xiao noted.
Benjamin Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Thursday Washington determines with "high certainty" that the Syrian regime "used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year." But he said Obama has "not made any decision" to impose a no-fly zone in Syria and ruled out the possibility of deploying US ground troops.
Russia said it is not convinced by the US claim and the Syrian foreign ministry also dismissed Washington's allegations that it used chemical weapons as "full of lies."
Li Weijian, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times Monday that although it is hard for Russia and the US to bridge their differences, the two sides might seek more joint efforts to push for an international peace conference on the Syria conflict.
"It is impossible for the West to gain UN approval if they want to impose no-fly zones or other military actions in Syria. So a peace conference seemed to be the only option accepted by both Russia and the West to seek a solution to the Syrian issue, and Moscow and Washington had an agreement on such a meeting," Li said.
Agencies contributed to this story
==============================
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==============================
Global Times
June 18, 2013
US, Russia square off over Syria conflict
By Wang Zhaokun
US President Barack Obama met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday at the G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, as the two leaders sought to narrow their differences on the Syrian conflict that was set to top the conference's agenda.
The meeting between Obama and Putin at the summit of some of the world's most powerful nations came days after the US alleged that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict and announced that it would offer direct military support to the Syrian rebels.
China said Monday the Syrian issue can only be solved via political means, urging the relevant parties to push for a political solution and not take actions that could lead to further militarization of the crisis.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Monday his country will not permit no-fly zones to be imposed over Syria.
"I think we fundamentally will not allow this scenario," Lukashevich said, according to Reuters. "All these maneuvers about no-fly zones and humanitarian corridors are a direct consequence of a lack of respect for international law."
Summit host British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday his priority was to ensure that a peace conference on the Syria conflict take place later this year, according to an AFP report.
Speaking to reporters in London after his Sunday meeting with Cameron, Putin voiced Russia's disapproval of the US plan to arm the Syrian rebels.
"One does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras," Putin said, referring to video released last month showing a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart of a dead soldier, Reuters reported.
Putin also insisted that Moscow had abided by international law when supplying weapons to Syria. "We are not breaching any rules and norms and we call on all our partners to act in the same fashion," he said.
Russia said earlier this month that it had not yet delivered the S-300 missiles, fearing that this would "disturb the balance in the region."
Russia is unlikely to make concessions on the Syrian issue at the summit, Xiao Xian, head of the Institute of International Studies at China's Yunnan University, told the Global Times.
"I don't think there will be any major breakthrough on the issue following the discussion by the two sides through the conference as Russia and the West hold entirely different views on the Syrian government and rebels," he said.
"And now more importantly, Assad's forces have already seized the initiative in its fight against the militants at home. So under the circumstances, Russia would of course dig its heels in," Xiao noted.
Benjamin Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Thursday Washington determines with "high certainty" that the Syrian regime "used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year." But he said Obama has "not made any decision" to impose a no-fly zone in Syria and ruled out the possibility of deploying US ground troops.
Russia said it is not convinced by the US claim and the Syrian foreign ministry also dismissed Washington's allegations that it used chemical weapons as "full of lies."
Li Weijian, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times Monday that although it is hard for Russia and the US to bridge their differences, the two sides might seek more joint efforts to push for an international peace conference on the Syria conflict.
"It is impossible for the West to gain UN approval if they want to impose no-fly zones or other military actions in Syria. So a peace conference seemed to be the only option accepted by both Russia and the West to seek a solution to the Syrian issue, and Moscow and Washington had an agreement on such a meeting," Li said.
Agencies contributed to this story
==============================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
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Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.co
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
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==============================
Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:23 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.aco.nato.int/exerci
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
June 19, 2013
EXERCISE ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 IS WELL UNDERWAY IN CORSICA
====
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm' of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment...HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
====
Close to 40 multinational troops assigned to Headquarters, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) completed the first part of their rapid deployment exercise in Corsica last weekend.
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 is far from over, however, as more than 100 troops from the Gloucestershire-based NATO headquarters will continue at Solenzara Airbase throughout the remainder of this week, returning home to the United Kingdom on 21 June.
Remaining in Corsica are troops assigned to the ARRC’s Enabling Command (EC) and Forward Main elements, who will continue the work begun by the command’s Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Teams (OLRTs), most of whom deployed to Corsica on 10 June.
...
The ARRC has 4 OLRTs; consisting of 6 personnel, including a team leader, two communications officers, and three specialists (engineers, logistics experts, etc.), each team has been augmented in Corsica with interpreters, either from the local area or from the French Foreign Legion.
Designed to deploy in advance of the rest of the headquarters, the OLRTs are given a set of Requests for Information, or RFIs, before they depart. Upon arriving in theatre, they must find answers to all of these questions, particularly those that involve the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies into the country.
Using state-of-the-art satellite communication kit, the OLRTs travel around the area, completing recces of sea and air ports, roads, etc. as well as meeting with administrative and political leaders, then make assessments that are forwarded directly back to the ARRC's commander and his staff.
In Corsica, this has meant many long days driving around the mountainous Mediterranean island for OLRT personnel. "The terrain and roads have been challenging…(Corsica) has given us a good awareness of potential challenges we could find on a real, operational deployment,” explained Bjornerud.
...
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm' of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment, at the beginning of which the ARRC would traditionally deploy its Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) and Enabling Command (EC) elements in advance of the rest of the headquarters in order to get everything ready and coordinate any/all logistics/transportation/etc. needs before the rest of the multinational headquarters deploys.
This exercise will mirror what the ARRC would do if the multinational headquarters were called-up by NATO to deploy in a real-world scenario.
HQ ARRC is a NATO Rapid Deployment Corps headquarters, founded in 1992 in Germany, and headquartered in Gloucestershire since August 2010.
Although HQ ARRC's ‘framework nation' is the United Kingdom, comprising approximately 60% of the overall staff, the ARRC is fully multinational in nature and organization, with 15 Partner Nations contributing the remaining complement of personnel (Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United States).
HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
As an NRF Land Component Command, or LCC, the ARRC will essentially be in command of all land combat troops on the ground during an NRF deployment.
==============================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.co
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups
==============================
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
June 19, 2013
EXERCISE ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 IS WELL UNDERWAY IN CORSICA
====
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm' of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment...HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
====
Close to 40 multinational troops assigned to Headquarters, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) completed the first part of their rapid deployment exercise in Corsica last weekend.
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 is far from over, however, as more than 100 troops from the Gloucestershire-based NATO headquarters will continue at Solenzara Airbase throughout the remainder of this week, returning home to the United Kingdom on 21 June.
Remaining in Corsica are troops assigned to the ARRC’s Enabling Command (EC) and Forward Main elements, who will continue the work begun by the command’s Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Teams (OLRTs), most of whom deployed to Corsica on 10 June.
...
The ARRC has 4 OLRTs; consisting of 6 personnel, including a team leader, two communications officers, and three specialists (engineers, logistics experts, etc.), each team has been augmented in Corsica with interpreters, either from the local area or from the French Foreign Legion.
Designed to deploy in advance of the rest of the headquarters, the OLRTs are given a set of Requests for Information, or RFIs, before they depart. Upon arriving in theatre, they must find answers to all of these questions, particularly those that involve the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies into the country.
Using state-of-the-art satellite communication kit, the OLRTs travel around the area, completing recces of sea and air ports, roads, etc. as well as meeting with administrative and political leaders, then make assessments that are forwarded directly back to the ARRC's commander and his staff.
In Corsica, this has meant many long days driving around the mountainous Mediterranean island for OLRT personnel. "The terrain and roads have been challenging…(Corsica) has given us a good awareness of potential challenges we could find on a real, operational deployment,” explained Bjornerud.
...
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm' of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment, at the beginning of which the ARRC would traditionally deploy its Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) and Enabling Command (EC) elements in advance of the rest of the headquarters in order to get everything ready and coordinate any/all logistics/transportation/etc. needs before the rest of the multinational headquarters deploys.
This exercise will mirror what the ARRC would do if the multinational headquarters were called-up by NATO to deploy in a real-world scenario.
HQ ARRC is a NATO Rapid Deployment Corps headquarters, founded in 1992 in Germany, and headquartered in Gloucestershire since August 2010.
Although HQ ARRC's ‘framework nation' is the United Kingdom, comprising approximately 60% of the overall staff, the ARRC is fully multinational in nature and organization, with 15 Partner Nations contributing the remaining complement of personnel (Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United States).
HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
As an NRF Land Component Command, or LCC, the ARRC will essentially be in command of all land combat troops on the ground during an NRF deployment.
==============================
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.co
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups
==============================
Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:23 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"mart unknown"
*Forward from mart
*
*Urgent - Please Distribute Widely!*
*U.S. troops and aircraft to Jordan!*
Below is the commentary I posted to Yahoo News in response to the AP News "US
war games send signal to Assad". Scroll down to the bottom to read the
original news item and links to photos. - Mart
---------------------
Re AP= "US war games send signal to Assad"
More than "a signal to Assad", this should be signal to the American
people that their Nobel Peace Prize winning president, with cheers and the
complete agreement and acquiescence of his Republican "opposition". by the
way, is following in lock-step with his presidential predecessors and is
planning to involve the U.S. in yet another long, bloody, Vietnam-
Iraq-Afghanistan-style war of aggression, that this time could could lead
to a full scale third world war involving nuclear weapons. Hang on to your
hats folks, dust off those steel helmets and body bags for your sons and
daughters and just in case, start re-learning and singing the old "*Duck
and Cover*" song again.
---------------------
http://news.yahoo.com/ap-
Associated Press, via Yahoo news,
http://news.yahoo.com
June 19, 2013
AP EXCLUSIVE: US war games send signal to Assad
*ZARQA, Jordan (AP) —* Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American
advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian commandos fanned across this
dusty desert plain, holding war games that could eventually form the basis
of an assault in Syria.
With the recent deployment of Patriot missiles near the Syrian border, and
the mock Syrian accents of those playing the enemy, the message was clear:
There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom,
and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria's chemical weapons
stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime lose control.
Dubbed Eager Lion, the 12-day exercise involves combined land, air and sea
maneuvers across the country. It brings together 8,000 personnel from 19
Arab and European nations to train on border security, irregular warfare,
terrorism and counterinsurgency.
Marine Corps Lt. Col. Duke Shienle said Syria "is a concern that all our
regional partners share."
The Syrian crisis is "causing all military in the region to increase
intensity," he said as he supervised masked commandos in black uniforms
from Jordan and two other Syria neighbors — Iraq and Lebanon — in a mock
exercise to free a hijacked aircraft on an airstrip in the eastern
Jordanian desert.
Nearby, U.S. military strategists taught Jordanian riot police to quickly
contain a mock protest by angry mobs in a crowded refugee camp. The
trainers refused to name the camp, but the trainees said it was "Zaatari,"
a reference to a refugee settlement straddling the border with Syria that
shelters around 185,000 displaced Syrians.
"We want freedom! We want a free Syria!" the trainees shouted, speaking the
Syrian dialect as they depicted Syrian refugees. Others looked on from
under dusty tents pitched on a strip of desert outside a Jordanian
armycompound. The location of this exercise and others could not be
disclosed
in line with Jordanian army regulations.
Elsewhere, in the south, hundreds of masked Jordanian commandos in black
uniforms used machine-guns, rocket propellers and tanks to overwhelm an
enemy target as Jordanian helicopters and fighter jets — all part of
previous American donations — buzzed the skies overhead.
"We want to tell anyone with malicious intentions toward Jordan that we can
hit back where it hurts most painfully," said one Jordanian commando,
speaking under scorching sun in the arid mountain region. He could not be
named under army regulations and declined to say if the enemy he was
fighting was Assad's army.
Other training focused on humanitarian relief and crisis management and
involves 7,000 civilians from non-governmental organizations engaged in
providing assistance to Syrian refugees, said Tawfiq Hennawi of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the participating NGOs.
Jordan hosts more than half a million Syrians who fled Assad's military
onslaught and that number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by the end of
the year.
"These exercises bolster our defense capabilities," said Jordanian army
Maj. Gen. Awni Edwan, adding that the Eager Lion exercises, which end
Thursday, are routine, having being held twice before at the same time.
"We don't intend to attack anybody," he said.
Jordan has been leery that Assad may eventually use his chemical weapons
against his neighbors, or if his regime starts to collapse, his stockpile
may fall into the hands of al-Qaida or other militants who are trying to
rise to power in Syria.
There has been mounting speculation that should Assad's regime begin to
lose control, Jordan will dispatch its highly-skilled, U.S.-trained and
equipped commandos to secure Assad's chemical weapons and create a safe
haven for Syrian refugees along the 230-mile (375-kilometer) border with
Jordan, according to a Western diplomat who monitors Syria from his base in
Jordan.
The purpose is to prevent a further influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan
out of fear that Shiite militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah group or
other Iranian agents may slip across the border to destabilize this key
U.S. ally, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because
identifying him might jeopardize his intelligence-gathering on Syria.
Jordan's predominantly Sunni Muslim population is traditionally a fiery
critic of the growing influence of Iran and its rival Shiite sect.
Regional media reports this week suggesting that Hezbollah activists are
deploying near the Jordanian border to help Assad regain control of
southern Daraa province— which has been a lifeline for arms shipments to
rebels seeking to topple him — sent jitters across Jordan. Officials said
that security was immediately beefed up, with more Jordanian soldiers
deployed along the border with Syria.
In recent weeks, Assad's forces have appeared to be regaining control over
areas seized by rebels, particularly the strategic town of Qusair.
Jordan also fears that Assad's sleeper cells, including Hezbollah, may
already be in the country and would act if instructed by Iran or Syria,
where an uprising that started in 2011 has descended into all-out civil war.
Eager Lion coincides with Washington deploying one or two Patriot batteries
along the border with Syria and agreeing to keep a squadron of 12 to 24
F-16 fighter jets after the exercises — a move Syria's regime and its
Russian patron have expressed concern over.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by Russia's Interfax news
agency as saying that the deployment of the air-defense systems in
Jordanin order to set up a no-fly zone over Syria would be a violation
of
international law.
The United States has said it has no plans for military intervention in
Syria, although President Barack Obama has left the door open for any
possibility.
"With this exercise being the biggest fire power show ever in Jordan,
coupled with the deployment of Patriot air defense systems and U.S. fighter
jets, it is clear that the ground is being set for military intervention in
Syria," said Col. Khalil Rawahneh, a Jordanian military strategist who
participated in at least 16 U.S. and British-sponsored maneuvers until he
retired four years ago.
-------------------
Photo 1 - "U.S. Navy sailors stand in formation aboard the USS Stockdale
before maneuvers with the Jordanian Navy in the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan as
part of Eager Lion, a multinational military exercise, Tuesday, June 18,
2013. Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of
U.S.-trained Jordanian soldiers are holding war games that could eventually
form the basis of an assault in Syria. There is fear of spillover from the
Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian
role in securing Syria's chemical stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime
lose."
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox
Photo 2 - "An Iraqi Counter Terrorist forces soldier participates in a
rehearsal with forces from Jordan and Lebanon as part of Eager Lion, a
multinational military exercise in Zarqa, Jordan, Monday, June 17, 2013."
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox
*
*Urgent - Please Distribute Widely!*
*U.S. troops and aircraft to Jordan!*
Below is the commentary I posted to Yahoo News in response to the AP News "US
war games send signal to Assad". Scroll down to the bottom to read the
original news item and links to photos. - Mart
---------------------
Re AP= "US war games send signal to Assad"
More than "a signal to Assad", this should be signal to the American
people that their Nobel Peace Prize winning president, with cheers and the
complete agreement and acquiescence of his Republican "opposition". by the
way, is following in lock-step with his presidential predecessors and is
planning to involve the U.S. in yet another long, bloody, Vietnam-
Iraq-Afghanistan-style war of aggression, that this time could could lead
to a full scale third world war involving nuclear weapons. Hang on to your
hats folks, dust off those steel helmets and body bags for your sons and
daughters and just in case, start re-learning and singing the old "*Duck
and Cover*" song again.
---------------------
http://news.yahoo.com/ap-
Associated Press, via Yahoo news,
http://news.yahoo.com
June 19, 2013
AP EXCLUSIVE: US war games send signal to Assad
*ZARQA, Jordan (AP) —* Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American
advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian commandos fanned across this
dusty desert plain, holding war games that could eventually form the basis
of an assault in Syria.
With the recent deployment of Patriot missiles near the Syrian border, and
the mock Syrian accents of those playing the enemy, the message was clear:
There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom,
and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria's chemical weapons
stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime lose control.
Dubbed Eager Lion, the 12-day exercise involves combined land, air and sea
maneuvers across the country. It brings together 8,000 personnel from 19
Arab and European nations to train on border security, irregular warfare,
terrorism and counterinsurgency.
Marine Corps Lt. Col. Duke Shienle said Syria "is a concern that all our
regional partners share."
The Syrian crisis is "causing all military in the region to increase
intensity," he said as he supervised masked commandos in black uniforms
from Jordan and two other Syria neighbors — Iraq and Lebanon — in a mock
exercise to free a hijacked aircraft on an airstrip in the eastern
Jordanian desert.
Nearby, U.S. military strategists taught Jordanian riot police to quickly
contain a mock protest by angry mobs in a crowded refugee camp. The
trainers refused to name the camp, but the trainees said it was "Zaatari,"
a reference to a refugee settlement straddling the border with Syria that
shelters around 185,000 displaced Syrians.
"We want freedom! We want a free Syria!" the trainees shouted, speaking the
Syrian dialect as they depicted Syrian refugees. Others looked on from
under dusty tents pitched on a strip of desert outside a Jordanian
armycompound. The location of this exercise and others could not be
disclosed
in line with Jordanian army regulations.
Elsewhere, in the south, hundreds of masked Jordanian commandos in black
uniforms used machine-guns, rocket propellers and tanks to overwhelm an
enemy target as Jordanian helicopters and fighter jets — all part of
previous American donations — buzzed the skies overhead.
"We want to tell anyone with malicious intentions toward Jordan that we can
hit back where it hurts most painfully," said one Jordanian commando,
speaking under scorching sun in the arid mountain region. He could not be
named under army regulations and declined to say if the enemy he was
fighting was Assad's army.
Other training focused on humanitarian relief and crisis management and
involves 7,000 civilians from non-governmental organizations engaged in
providing assistance to Syrian refugees, said Tawfiq Hennawi of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the participating NGOs.
Jordan hosts more than half a million Syrians who fled Assad's military
onslaught and that number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by the end of
the year.
"These exercises bolster our defense capabilities," said Jordanian army
Maj. Gen. Awni Edwan, adding that the Eager Lion exercises, which end
Thursday, are routine, having being held twice before at the same time.
"We don't intend to attack anybody," he said.
Jordan has been leery that Assad may eventually use his chemical weapons
against his neighbors, or if his regime starts to collapse, his stockpile
may fall into the hands of al-Qaida or other militants who are trying to
rise to power in Syria.
There has been mounting speculation that should Assad's regime begin to
lose control, Jordan will dispatch its highly-skilled, U.S.-trained and
equipped commandos to secure Assad's chemical weapons and create a safe
haven for Syrian refugees along the 230-mile (375-kilometer) border with
Jordan, according to a Western diplomat who monitors Syria from his base in
Jordan.
The purpose is to prevent a further influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan
out of fear that Shiite militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah group or
other Iranian agents may slip across the border to destabilize this key
U.S. ally, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because
identifying him might jeopardize his intelligence-gathering on Syria.
Jordan's predominantly Sunni Muslim population is traditionally a fiery
critic of the growing influence of Iran and its rival Shiite sect.
Regional media reports this week suggesting that Hezbollah activists are
deploying near the Jordanian border to help Assad regain control of
southern Daraa province— which has been a lifeline for arms shipments to
rebels seeking to topple him — sent jitters across Jordan. Officials said
that security was immediately beefed up, with more Jordanian soldiers
deployed along the border with Syria.
In recent weeks, Assad's forces have appeared to be regaining control over
areas seized by rebels, particularly the strategic town of Qusair.
Jordan also fears that Assad's sleeper cells, including Hezbollah, may
already be in the country and would act if instructed by Iran or Syria,
where an uprising that started in 2011 has descended into all-out civil war.
Eager Lion coincides with Washington deploying one or two Patriot batteries
along the border with Syria and agreeing to keep a squadron of 12 to 24
F-16 fighter jets after the exercises — a move Syria's regime and its
Russian patron have expressed concern over.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by Russia's Interfax news
agency as saying that the deployment of the air-defense systems in
Jordanin order to set up a no-fly zone over Syria would be a violation
of
international law.
The United States has said it has no plans for military intervention in
Syria, although President Barack Obama has left the door open for any
possibility.
"With this exercise being the biggest fire power show ever in Jordan,
coupled with the deployment of Patriot air defense systems and U.S. fighter
jets, it is clear that the ground is being set for military intervention in
Syria," said Col. Khalil Rawahneh, a Jordanian military strategist who
participated in at least 16 U.S. and British-sponsored maneuvers until he
retired four years ago.
-------------------
Photo 1 - "U.S. Navy sailors stand in formation aboard the USS Stockdale
before maneuvers with the Jordanian Navy in the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan as
part of Eager Lion, a multinational military exercise, Tuesday, June 18,
2013. Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of
U.S.-trained Jordanian soldiers are holding war games that could eventually
form the basis of an assault in Syria. There is fear of spillover from the
Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian
role in securing Syria's chemical stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime
lose."
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox
Photo 2 - "An Iraqi Counter Terrorist forces soldier participates in a
rehearsal with forces from Jordan and Lebanon as part of Eager Lion, a
multinational military exercise in Zarqa, Jordan, Monday, June 17, 2013."
http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox
