Jordanians won't support ground intervention in Syria

Jordanians 'won't support ground intervention in Syria'

A US-led military exercise in Jordan triggered speculations about an imminent military offensive inside Syria.Comments

Jordan should never send any forces to fight inside Syria because this will end up wrecking Jordan’s military establishment, says Majali [EPA]

A joint military exercise between Jordan and the US sparked a frenzy of speculation about an imminent American, British and Jordanian military intervention inside Syria to stem the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

The annual exercise, Eager Lion, was kicked off on Sunday by US and Jordanian troops with the participation of more than 20 nations. It is in its seventh year and is led by forces from US Central Command responsible for the Middle East region.

This year's exercise, however, comes amid local and regional press reports suggesting a link between the timing of the military exercise and a possible US-led ground intervention in Syria.

But according to Jordanian analysts, sending Jordanian ground forces inside Syria would have dire consequences for Jordan's stability and national security. It would be wise for Jordan, argues retired General Mousa al-Odwan, to keep a defensive-offensive posture on the Syrian borders.

"We should not intervene in the Syrian conflict unless there is a clear and present terrorist threat to our national security," said Odwan, a former commander of Jordan's Special Forces and former deputy chief of staff of Jordan's armed forces.

Odwan, who is in favour of using special forces in a pre-emptive attack capacity inside Syria to neutralise "terrorist" threats, downplayed any connection between the Eager Lion exercise and the Syrian conflict, arguing that it was important for Jordanian armed forces to gain exposure to foreign militaries and train with them.