Jerusalem – Israel has on a number of occasions asked for Jordan’s “permission” to bomb Syrian chemical weapons sites, The Atlantic reported Monday citing intelligence sources in two countries.
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According to the report, Jordan has rebuffed Israel requests a number of times in the past two months, saying “the time was not right.” Jordan is reportedly wary of allowing Israel to bomb the sites in Syria, fearing a military response on Jordanian territory. “A number of sites are not far from the border,” the report quoted a foreign source as saying.
“The Jordanians have to be very careful about provoking the regime and they assume the Syrians would suspect Jordanian complicity in an Israeli attack.”
The official added: “You know the Israelis — sometimes they want to bomb right away. But they were told that from the Jordanian perspective, the time was not right.” The sources said the Israeli requests were communicated through Mossad intermediaries dispatched by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.
The report followed a New York Times report indicating that Western intelligence officials have noticed new worrying signs of activity at chemical weapons sites in Syria. The Syrian regime is “doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons,” one American intelligence official told the Times, adding, “It’s not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities.”
The officials were unsure of Syria’s intentions regarding the work at the chemical sites, but said it is possible Damascus is preparing to use chemical weapons as a last-ditched effort to defeat rebels, according to the report.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to the Times report saying the United States is planning on taking action should Assad use his significant chemical weapons stockpile against his own people. “I’m not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people,” Clinton was quoted by The Washington Post as saying Monday in Prague. “But suffice to say we are certainly planning to take action.”
Syria on Monday responded to the US warning, saying it would not use chemical weapons against its own people.
Content provided as courtesy of The Jerusalem Post
“his significant chemical weapons stockpile “.
Haven’t we heard this story numerous times before? Now it certainly may be true, but I’d sure like to see proof. Hopefully before either they use it or before we decide to go to war over them and then find.. nothing.
of course syria has significant stockpiles, the ba’athists trucked out of iraq while america invaded from the south and east!
Wouldn’t we feel better if Syria said it would not use chemical weapons versus it saying it would not use chemical weapons against its own people!?
I have always thought that the neighboring states have had robust, informal, contacts to talk to each other quietly. At least I hope so.