“Eager Lion” could be preparation for ground invasion of Syria
More than 7000 military personnel from more than 20 nations, including Jordan, the US, Italy, Pakistan, Belgium, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are in Jordan for joint military exercises called Eager Lion. The soldiers come from land, maritime, and Air Force troops.
For the first time, this year’s exercise will also include a global strike mission, conducted by two U.S. Air Force B-1B “Lancers.” The aircrafts will embark on a non-stop, 35-hour, 14,000-mile flight over Jordan and will have to refuel four times while in flight.
“The size of participation this year has become as an outcome of our dedicated concerns to exchange the expertise of military commanders and all strategic, operational and tactical levels. These circumstances, that the region and the world are experiencing, which are related to terrorism dangers that distort our divine religion, urge us to combine the effort, the joint-cooperation and exchange of expertise in order to counter terrorism in all its forms and types,” Brig. Gen. Khaled Shar’rah, director of the Jordan Armed Forces Joint-Training Directorate said.
His US counterpart, Maj. Gen. William B. Hickman, deputy commanding general of operations for 3rd Army/U.S. Central Command, said the exercise is important in the current climate.
“As brothers in arms, we fully understand how much our nations have paid in blood and treasure over the years to address security, particularly in this region. Our biggest challenge extends beyond borders, domains acceptable to armed conflict for much of the past two decades our military have operated in the grey zones of military confrontation, unique range of activities, short of conventional war, where misunderstanding and miscalculation can easily escalate into a larger conflict,” Hickman said.
The exercise led to speculation in the Middle East that there were plans for a US-led ground invasion into Syria to fight Islamic State. The Jordanian army shot down a drone near the Syrian border and there have been reports of troop buildups near the border. But analysts in Jordan say they have no interests in sending Jordanian troops to neighboring Syria.
While Jordan has been part of the US-backed coalition against Syria, it has kept a low profile. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was quoted in the official Syrian news agency warning Jordan that any of its troops found inside Syrian territory without prior coordination with the Syrian army would be dealt with as hostile forces.
At the same time, Jordan’s King Abdullah recently warned that Jordan is ready to deal with any threats coming from the Syrian side of the border.
“We will not allow the developments in Syria to pose threats to Jordan,” the King recently told reporters. “We will not allow the developments in Syria to pose threats to Jordan. We are continuing with the policy of deep defense without the need to have the Jordanian army involved inside the Syrian territories.”
The King is also keen for the US to help establish safe zones on the border between Jordan and Syria, which would keep more Syrian refugees from entering Jordan.
“This is of high importance to Jordan,” Mohammed Hussainy, the director of the Identity Center, an independent civil society organization in Amman, told The Media Line. “If the Trump administration decides to go ahead with this, they will find cooperation from Jordan, especially for a safe zone in the south of Syria.”
Jordan currently has about 1.4 million Syrian refugees and the country simply cannot handle anymore, analysts say. It would be even better if some of those refugees could eventually return to Syria.
Jordan is also interested in helping the US step up the fight against Islamic State, analysts say. Jordan is suffering economically partly because its borders with Syria and Iraq have been closed due to the fighting.
“We are trapped in this crisis,” Oraib al-Rantawi, the director of the Al-Quds Center in Amman, told The Media Line. “We hope to open the borders and conclude deals with Syria and Lebanon and through them with Europe.”