Jordan’s delicate rapprochement process with its
northern neighbor, Syria, seems to have stopped suddenly. Last month in New York, His
Majesty King Abdullah voiced his frustration with President Bashar Assad’s
inability to stop the smuggling of drugs from his country into Jordan. Speaking
at the
Middle East Global Summit in New York City, His Majesty said he was
unsure whether Assad is fully in charge of the country in light of the “major
problem” of drugs and weapons being smuggled into Jordan.
اضافة اعلان
"We are fighting every single day on our border to
stop massive amounts of drugs coming into our country," he said. "And
this is a major issue that all the parties, including some people inside the
regime, and the Iranians and their proxies, are all taking advantage of."
Only increased
after normalization talksA few days later, his Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi
was quoted by CNN as saying that trafficking of the addictive
amphetamine
Captagon from Syria to Jordan has only increased after
normalization talks that led to Assad’s return to the Arab League in
May.
For Jordan, reopening its borders with Syria following the liberation of Daraa from rebel groups in 2018 was meant to improve bilateral ties and pave the way for normalization of relations. Jordan’s 370-kilometer-long border with Syria, running through largely empty and challenging terrain, was infiltrated by smugglers until the king ordered the army to alter its rules of engagement and do whatever it took to abort smuggling. Amman protested to the Syrian government and provided evidence that the Syrian military protected smugglers and facilitated their attempts to enter Jordan.
Jordan was the first Arab country to take steps to
normalize ties with Damascus since Syria’s membership in the Arab League was
suspended following the eruption of the anti-regime uprising in 2011 and the
civil war that followed. His Majesty tried to convince the Biden administration
to accept “regime rehabilitation” instead of “regime change” in 2021, stressing
that Assad is the
legitimate leader of Syria. The US had imposed sanctions
against the regime and placed thousands of its soldiers in northeastern Syria
since 2014 to fight Daesh through an alliance with the Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF).
Safadi, who visited Damascus a few times and met with
Assad, had proposed an Arab solution to end the Syrian crisis in return for
restoring Syria’s seat in the Arab League. The United Arab Emirates invited
Assad to visit Abu Dhabi earlier this year, as Riyadh issued an invitation
to the
Syrian president to attend last May’s Arab League summit in Jeddah,
which he did.
Other Arab
countries are joining in suspending talks with DamascusBut the quid-pro-quo did not work. Assad has not
indicated that he is willing to engage in an Arab solution to ending the crisis
in his country and has, so far, done nothing to curb the smuggling of drugs
into Jordan. As a result, it now appears that other Arab countries are joining
Amman in suspending talks with Damascus.
Western reports speak of intricate drug-making and
smuggling networks involving Hezbollah, the regime, and Iran, worth more than
$50 billion annually. While some drugs reach local distributors in Jordan,
larger quantities are moved to the Gulf region and beyond.
Syria has become a narco-state, yet the windfall profits
resulting from such activities go into the pockets of key figures in the
military and pro-Iran militias. Meanwhile, the
Syrian economy is on the brink
of collapse.
For Jordan, reopening its borders with Syria following
the liberation of Daraa from rebel groups in 2018 was meant to improve
bilateral ties and pave the way for normalization of relations.
Jordan’s 370-kilometer-long border with Syria, running through largely empty and
challenging terrain, was infiltrated by smugglers until the king ordered the
army to alter its rules of engagement and do whatever it took to abort
smuggling. Amman protested to the Syrian government and provided evidence that
the Syrian military protected smugglers and facilitated their attempts to enter
Jordan.
The Jordanian army said it had intercepted thousands of
smuggling attempts since 2020, and in recent months, it had shot down dozens of
drones coming from the Syrian side. Jordan’s air force is believed to have
launched two air strikes against suspected Captagon facilities in southern
Syria between May and August. There is chatter in Amman that more may be
coming, following His Majesty’s stern words; he warned that the Kingdom would
take necessary measures to protect itself from future threats from the
Syrian crisis that could impact its national security.
His Majesty is talking about weapons smuggling as well.
Recently, Israel accused Iran of smuggling weapons to Palestinian militant
groups through Jordan, ordering Mossad to investigate the claim.
Civil unrest in the Suwayda governorate, which has been
raging for more than a month, is also being watched by Jordan. His Majesty warned that the Kingdom cannot receive new
waves of refugees.
Jordan is hosting around a million Syrians and recently stated
that they should return home.
A few weeks ago, two pro-government columnists wrote
about Jordan and the drug war in the local media, calling for a
tough response to Syria’s indifference to Amman’s complaints. One, Maher Abu Tair, mentioned
creating a buffer zone while the other, Malek Athamneh, wrote about “American
proposals to help Jordan” to protect its northern borders.
Studying
several options on southern Syria
One informed source confirmed that Jordan is studying
several options on southern Syria, including launching more air strikes, but
that Amman is avoiding any “boots on the ground” scenario. Walid Phares, a
one-time advisor to former President Donald Trump on the region, had tweeted
that Washington is considering setting up “
free zones” in Syria over the events
in Sweida and revelations that two US senators had been in contact with the
Druze community’s highest religious figures there.
With Moscow occupied by the war in Ukraine, the Russian military
presence in southern Syria, which Amman had welcomed, appears to be no more.
The chaos and
power vacuum in southern Syria is a cause of genuine concerns for
Jordan and drug smuggling is but only one of them. The rise in Daesh movements
in Syria’s eastern desert and the activities by pro-Iran militias in southern
Syria keep Amman on its toes.
Jordan was the first Arab country to take steps to normalize ties with Damascus since Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended following the eruption of the anti-regime uprising in 2011 and the civil war that followed. His Majesty tried to convince the Biden administration to accept “regime rehabilitation” instead of “regime change” in 2021, stressing that Assad is the legitimate leader of Syria. The US had imposed sanctions against the regime and placed thousands of its soldiers in northeastern Syria since 2014 to fight Daesh through an alliance with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Keeping its lines of communications open with all
parties, Safadi held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein
Amir Abdollahian, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on 23 September,
where they discussed resolving the Syrian crisis.
According to media reports, the two ministers discussed
the
Syrian crisis and its resolution in line with the "step-for-step"
process where the Syrian regime is reintroduced to the international community
in exchange for reforms, but Safadi also "stressed the need to stop the
threats the crisis poses to the security of Jordan and the region.
For now,
contacts between Amman and Damascus are on hold,
but only after Jordan delivered a message that its patience over what is
happening along its northern borders is running thin.
Osama Al
Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
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