Since 2011, Jordan has paid a heavy price for the turmoil that engulfed Syria and whose repercussions extended to its northern borders. The refugee crisis imposed economic and social burdens, while Jordan faced unprecedented security challenges as drug and weapons smuggling networks expanded and armed groups and terrorist organizations exploited the absence of Syrian state authority across large areas of the country.
اضافة اعلان
The threats took the form of infiltration attempts and armed clashes, in which members of Jordan’s armed forces were killed while defending the Kingdom’s security. Smuggling activities, however, evolved from individual attempts into organized operations backed by networks with weapons and money that exploit the chaos and lack of oversight on the other side of the border.
When Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell, Jordan welcomed the possibility of turning this page and the establishment of a Syrian authority capable of restoring control over its territory. But this did not happen. Parts of southern Syria continue to suffer from fragile security conditions that allow smuggling networks and armed groups to operate. Despite the complexities of the transitional period, this does not absolve Syria’s new authorities of their responsibility to prevent their territory from being used to harm neighboring countries.
Jordan cannot wait for the Syrian state to complete its reconstruction or for its security arrangements to be finalized while threats to its borders persist. Jordan’s strikes against sources of threats inside Syrian territory are not intended to interfere in Syrian affairs or undermine the sovereignty of its neighboring state. Rather, they are a defensive measure dictated by specific security circumstances.
International law, which protects state sovereignty and prohibits the use of force against a state’s territorial integrity, also recognizes the right to self-defense in response to threats, particularly when a threat is serious and direct and cannot be addressed by other means. In such circumstances, considering lawful defensive options is something no responsible state can ignore.
In Jordan’s case, the risks go beyond conventional smuggling operations. The drugs that organized networks seek to bring into the Kingdom threaten the security of society and the health of its people, while generating enormous financial returns that fuel organized crime and terrorism. As for weapons, their delivery to outlawed groups opens the door to security threats that may later prove difficult to contain. This could enable terrorist organizations that exploit vulnerable areas and the flow of money and weapons to reorganize and expand their activities.
These threats must therefore not be treated as an internal Syrian matter that does not concern Jordan. What happens on the other side of the border becomes a direct Jordanian concern when its consequences threaten the lives, security and stability of Jordanians.
Smuggling networks and terrorist groups require a firm response through serious security and intelligence cooperation between Amman and Damascus, alongside decisive Syrian measures to restore the state’s ability to exercise control over the south.
Jordan’s interests lie in a stable Syria that recovers and becomes capable of protecting its borders. Achieving this requires the Syrian authorities to recognize that good neighborly relations cannot be secured through statements and promises alone, but through tangible measures that eliminate sources of threats and restore trust between the two countries.
Over the past years, Jordan has borne more than its share of the consequences of the Syrian crisis and demonstrated considerable patience and restraint. However, it is not required to remain perpetually exposed to threats whose sources it cannot control. Jordan has a duty to use the means available to it under international law to protect its citizens, including military force when necessary.
Jordan has no interest in weakening Syria, but it cannot accept leaving its borders exposed to drug and weapons gangs and terrorist organizations, or making its security dependent on the ability of others to fulfill their responsibilities.
