Home
[size=39]The Jordanian monarch on the border again .. “security and political contexts” and “two levels of treatment”
Zia Odeh - Istanbul
February 22 2022
[/size]
The Jordanian king on a visit to the border with Syria
Zia Odeh - Istanbul
February 22 2022
[/size]
The Jordanian king on a visit to the border with Syria
For the second time in less than a month, the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, visited his country’s borders with Syria, and despite the difference in the announcement between “inspection and conducting military exercises,” the circumstances surrounding both visits were similar, which are inseparable from the tone of threat that Amman began to launch against Drug smugglers and their handlers.
The first visit was on February 14, at which point he saluted the border guards, stressing the importance of addressing drug smuggling operations, while in the second, which took place on Monday, Abdullah II participated, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defense, in a special forces exercise under the name "Strike of Hawks". ".
Since the beginning of this year, there has been a shift in the way Jordan deals with drug smuggling operations to Syria, and at a time when military officials from Amman spoke of a change in the "rules of engagement", others announced, a few days ago, that their country was fighting an "undeclared war".
And he seemed to notice, during the past week, the ideas and analyzes published by former Jordanian writers and officers, as they indicated in their articles on Jordanian media the involvement of military groups affiliated with the Syrian regime in facilitating smuggling operations, especially the formation of the "Fourth Division" and other militias affiliated with Iran and " Lebanese Hezbollah.
Simultaneously, figures from the Jordanian military establishment, including Colonel Zaid al-Dabbas, spoke of "new tactics for smuggling operations, such as those of organized crime."
Al-Dabbas told AFP that those responsible for the operations are now using "advanced vehicles, as well as unmanned aircraft," noting: "The most dangerous thing we have noticed recently is the presence of armed groups alongside smugglers."
This policy, in its general form, is still "military", far from any political contexts, especially since Jordan had recently taken a sudden stride in the direction of the Syrian regime, in an effort to repair relations with it, after years of stagnation.
The Jordanian strategic security expert, Omar Al-Raddad, considers that the escalation in smuggling operations is "related to security and political contexts within the Syrian leadership."
It also reflects "a governance crisis at the military and security levels, including a conflict of loyalties between Moscow and Tehran."
Al-Raddad spoke to Al-Hurra website about two "variables" related to the prevailing situation on the borders, which are "the control of the Syrian government and the Syrian army over the areas of Daraa Governorate."
The second variable is that the escalation of smuggling came after “the improvement in relations between the Jordanian and Syrian governments, which were translated politically, security and economically through security and economic meetings, which resulted in the opening of borders and crossings between the two sides, and agreements on gas and electricity supplies from Jordan to Syria and Lebanon.”
Despite these talks and the arrival of Assad's forces to sites along the border, smuggling did not stop, but on the contrary, it greatly escalated, as shown by official Jordanian data.
So far, Amman does not explicitly accuse the Syrian regime of being behind the smuggling operations, which raises questions about the reasons for this? And whether it will change in the next stage?
Al-Raddad, who is also the director general of the Third Way for Strategic Consultations, clarifies that Jordan is dealing with this escalation on two levels.
The first level focuses on the military and security confrontation with the smuggling gangs, while the other withdraws to "coordinating with the Syrian leadership and agencies and exchanging information with them, especially since it is established that the problem is inside Syria despite its threat to Jordanian security."
Al-Raddad believes that "Jordan is betting on the capabilities of the Syrian government and its agencies to control its borders with Jordan and limit smuggling operations."
For his part, the Syrian researcher at the "Omran Center for Strategic Studies", Nawar Shaaban, points out that "the market for drug smuggling from Syria to the Gulf via Jordan existed before."
He explained to Al-Hurra: "Now the borders are controlled, and this led to the discovery of the scale of smuggling operations in its true form."
Shaaban believes that the return of Iranian militias and Syrian regime forces to the borders "contributed to security breaches, which was reflected in facilitating the entry of smugglers," ruling out that the escalation of smuggling would affect Amman's relations with Damascus, saying: "I see that the Syrian regime is using this file as a gateway to cooperation."
This is confirmed by the strategic security expert, Omar Al-Raddad, saying: "I do not think that this escalation in smuggling operations will negatively affect Amman's relations with Damascus."
But if it continues, or if facts are available confirming that Damascus, far from the approaches to the conflict between the centers of Syrian power, is targeting Jordan, "things will certainly change, and Jordan will have a decisive position on the Damascus government," according to the same spokesman.
According to his extensive investigation, published last week, the operations of drug smuggling, cutting weapons and people smuggling towards Jordan began to escalate after the regime forces and militias loyal to them took control of the Jordanian-Syrian borders, years ago, especially the rugged mountainous desert of As-Suwayda.
Regarding the source and destination of the shipments, the investigation states that "the aim of smuggling drugs to Jordan is to deliver them to the Arabian Peninsula," revealing that the party involved are armed groups affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
The Observatory pointed out that the shipments leave from the Baalbek region in Lebanon, to the outskirts of Qalamoun, and then to the As-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, all with the protection of armed groups loyal to the regime and affiliated with Hezbollah.
But a political analyst based in Damascus, Alaa Al-Asfari, said that the accusations related to the issue of drug trafficking and smuggling are "politicised."
Asfari added to Al-Hurra: "Syria is a geographical crossroads, and it is in the middle of many continents, and therefore it is a transit crossing. During the war, there were many gangs engaged in this trade and were active on all borders."
"There may be drug dealers in Syria motivated by necessity, and it is natural to see deviants in this path," according to the political analyst: "There are efforts by the Syrian Ministry of Interior and the Anti-Narcotics Branch to arrest dealers, promoters and smugglers."
Asfari continues: "Syria is continuing to fight drugs and more discipline on its borders. There is a great deal of interaction between the agencies in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. A month ago, the phenomenon has subsided, and we are on the way to eliminating it."
These shipments ranged between "Captagon pills" and "stop cannabis", while the ways of smuggling them varied. Sometimes in milk cartons and tea leaves, and sometimes in cardboard rolls, egg dishes and fruit pods.
According to security reports from several countries, the Syrian regime is considered primarily responsible for smuggling and manufacturing the contents of these shipments, which gradually turned into a "great commercial gain", with economic benefits for it on the one hand, and for the Lebanese "Hezbollah", whose agents are spread in separate areas. Inside Syria, on the other hand.
The Jordanian expert, Omar Al-Raddad, confirms his belief that there is "coordination between the Jordanian and Syrian sides on the military and security levels."
He says, "There is a Jordanian realization that parties in the Syrian leadership are behind the smuggling operations, which have taken new means, including advanced weapons and mechanisms, in addition to using drones."
Leaks have been reported in Syrian circles indicating armed clashes between gangs and smuggling militias that are affiliated with well-known military formations of the Syrian army, and others affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The expert adds that this "was also confirmed by the statements of the official spokesman for the Jordanian army, in which he said that some Syrian army points in the border area are cooperating with smugglers."
On January 27, the Jordanian army had announced the killing of 27 smugglers in a clash while they were trying to enter the kingdom from Syria, and this confrontation was the "deadliest", while three other smugglers were killed in separate operations this year.
Jordanian Colonel Zaid al-Dabbas noted that about 160 groups of drug traffickers operate in southern Syria near the border with Jordan.
For his part, Colonel Mustafa Al-Hiyari, Director of Military Information for the Jordanian Armed Forces, told Jordanian media that they had seized large quantities of illegal drugs since the beginning of the year.
This included 17,348 packages of cannabis and more than 16 million Captagon pills — compared to 15.5 million pills in all of 2021 and 1.4 million pills in 2020.
https://www.alhurra.com/arabic-and-international/2022/02/22/%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF
The first visit was on February 14, at which point he saluted the border guards, stressing the importance of addressing drug smuggling operations, while in the second, which took place on Monday, Abdullah II participated, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defense, in a special forces exercise under the name "Strike of Hawks". ".
Since the beginning of this year, there has been a shift in the way Jordan deals with drug smuggling operations to Syria, and at a time when military officials from Amman spoke of a change in the "rules of engagement", others announced, a few days ago, that their country was fighting an "undeclared war".
And he seemed to notice, during the past week, the ideas and analyzes published by former Jordanian writers and officers, as they indicated in their articles on Jordanian media the involvement of military groups affiliated with the Syrian regime in facilitating smuggling operations, especially the formation of the "Fourth Division" and other militias affiliated with Iran and " Lebanese Hezbollah.
Simultaneously, figures from the Jordanian military establishment, including Colonel Zaid al-Dabbas, spoke of "new tactics for smuggling operations, such as those of organized crime."
Al-Dabbas told AFP that those responsible for the operations are now using "advanced vehicles, as well as unmanned aircraft," noting: "The most dangerous thing we have noticed recently is the presence of armed groups alongside smugglers."
Security and political contexts
Most of the analyzes of observers indicate that the "issue of drug smuggling" from Syria to Jordan has become a real danger to the latter, which prompted it to adopt a new policy.This policy, in its general form, is still "military", far from any political contexts, especially since Jordan had recently taken a sudden stride in the direction of the Syrian regime, in an effort to repair relations with it, after years of stagnation.
The Jordanian strategic security expert, Omar Al-Raddad, considers that the escalation in smuggling operations is "related to security and political contexts within the Syrian leadership."
It also reflects "a governance crisis at the military and security levels, including a conflict of loyalties between Moscow and Tehran."
Al-Raddad spoke to Al-Hurra website about two "variables" related to the prevailing situation on the borders, which are "the control of the Syrian government and the Syrian army over the areas of Daraa Governorate."
The second variable is that the escalation of smuggling came after “the improvement in relations between the Jordanian and Syrian governments, which were translated politically, security and economically through security and economic meetings, which resulted in the opening of borders and crossings between the two sides, and agreements on gas and electricity supplies from Jordan to Syria and Lebanon.”
"Two levels"
Syrian and Jordanian officials held talks on border security in July last year, after Syrian regime forces seized opposition-held areas along the Jordanian border.Despite these talks and the arrival of Assad's forces to sites along the border, smuggling did not stop, but on the contrary, it greatly escalated, as shown by official Jordanian data.
So far, Amman does not explicitly accuse the Syrian regime of being behind the smuggling operations, which raises questions about the reasons for this? And whether it will change in the next stage?
Al-Raddad, who is also the director general of the Third Way for Strategic Consultations, clarifies that Jordan is dealing with this escalation on two levels.
The first level focuses on the military and security confrontation with the smuggling gangs, while the other withdraws to "coordinating with the Syrian leadership and agencies and exchanging information with them, especially since it is established that the problem is inside Syria despite its threat to Jordanian security."
Al-Raddad believes that "Jordan is betting on the capabilities of the Syrian government and its agencies to control its borders with Jordan and limit smuggling operations."
For his part, the Syrian researcher at the "Omran Center for Strategic Studies", Nawar Shaaban, points out that "the market for drug smuggling from Syria to the Gulf via Jordan existed before."
He explained to Al-Hurra: "Now the borders are controlled, and this led to the discovery of the scale of smuggling operations in its true form."
Shaaban believes that the return of Iranian militias and Syrian regime forces to the borders "contributed to security breaches, which was reflected in facilitating the entry of smugglers," ruling out that the escalation of smuggling would affect Amman's relations with Damascus, saying: "I see that the Syrian regime is using this file as a gateway to cooperation."
This is confirmed by the strategic security expert, Omar Al-Raddad, saying: "I do not think that this escalation in smuggling operations will negatively affect Amman's relations with Damascus."
But if it continues, or if facts are available confirming that Damascus, far from the approaches to the conflict between the centers of Syrian power, is targeting Jordan, "things will certainly change, and Jordan will have a decisive position on the Damascus government," according to the same spokesman.
"Hezbollah-linked groups"
The "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" had accused the Lebanese Hezbollah and figures associated with the Syrian regime of facilitating drug and arms smuggling operations to Jordan.According to his extensive investigation, published last week, the operations of drug smuggling, cutting weapons and people smuggling towards Jordan began to escalate after the regime forces and militias loyal to them took control of the Jordanian-Syrian borders, years ago, especially the rugged mountainous desert of As-Suwayda.
Regarding the source and destination of the shipments, the investigation states that "the aim of smuggling drugs to Jordan is to deliver them to the Arabian Peninsula," revealing that the party involved are armed groups affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
The Observatory pointed out that the shipments leave from the Baalbek region in Lebanon, to the outskirts of Qalamoun, and then to the As-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, all with the protection of armed groups loyal to the regime and affiliated with Hezbollah.
But a political analyst based in Damascus, Alaa Al-Asfari, said that the accusations related to the issue of drug trafficking and smuggling are "politicised."
Asfari added to Al-Hurra: "Syria is a geographical crossroads, and it is in the middle of many continents, and therefore it is a transit crossing. During the war, there were many gangs engaged in this trade and were active on all borders."
"There may be drug dealers in Syria motivated by necessity, and it is natural to see deviants in this path," according to the political analyst: "There are efforts by the Syrian Ministry of Interior and the Anti-Narcotics Branch to arrest dealers, promoters and smugglers."
Asfari continues: "Syria is continuing to fight drugs and more discipline on its borders. There is a great deal of interaction between the agencies in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. A month ago, the phenomenon has subsided, and we are on the way to eliminating it."
"parties involved"
Over the past years, Syria has become, in the eyes of Arab and Western countries, a "drug state", and this is linked to the large number of shipments that exited from it and crossed the borders to reach Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and further countries, such as Italy, Greece and Romania.These shipments ranged between "Captagon pills" and "stop cannabis", while the ways of smuggling them varied. Sometimes in milk cartons and tea leaves, and sometimes in cardboard rolls, egg dishes and fruit pods.
According to security reports from several countries, the Syrian regime is considered primarily responsible for smuggling and manufacturing the contents of these shipments, which gradually turned into a "great commercial gain", with economic benefits for it on the one hand, and for the Lebanese "Hezbollah", whose agents are spread in separate areas. Inside Syria, on the other hand.
The Jordanian expert, Omar Al-Raddad, confirms his belief that there is "coordination between the Jordanian and Syrian sides on the military and security levels."
He says, "There is a Jordanian realization that parties in the Syrian leadership are behind the smuggling operations, which have taken new means, including advanced weapons and mechanisms, in addition to using drones."
Leaks have been reported in Syrian circles indicating armed clashes between gangs and smuggling militias that are affiliated with well-known military formations of the Syrian army, and others affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The expert adds that this "was also confirmed by the statements of the official spokesman for the Jordanian army, in which he said that some Syrian army points in the border area are cooperating with smugglers."
On January 27, the Jordanian army had announced the killing of 27 smugglers in a clash while they were trying to enter the kingdom from Syria, and this confrontation was the "deadliest", while three other smugglers were killed in separate operations this year.
Jordanian Colonel Zaid al-Dabbas noted that about 160 groups of drug traffickers operate in southern Syria near the border with Jordan.
For his part, Colonel Mustafa Al-Hiyari, Director of Military Information for the Jordanian Armed Forces, told Jordanian media that they had seized large quantities of illegal drugs since the beginning of the year.
This included 17,348 packages of cannabis and more than 16 million Captagon pills — compared to 15.5 million pills in all of 2021 and 1.4 million pills in 2020.
https://www.alhurra.com/arabic-and-international/2022/02/22/%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF
» MM&C 5/9/24 The Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the European Union discuss cooperation to fin
» MM&C 5/9/24 Customs, security and economic aspects
» Union of Arab Banks: Iraq's environment encourages investment
» Government advisor: Movement to recover bad debts for the benefit of the Iraqi Trade Bank
» The International Development Bank announces the opening of its new branch in Erbil
» Oil seeks to convert refinery products to “Euro 5”... high quality and environmentally friendly
» Budget delay: the cry for help for paralyzed services and disrupted dreams
» Oil: Completion of projects to improve the quality of petroleum products, and others are under imple
» Chairman of the Securities Commission: 3 million shares, average daily trading volume
» Tamim calls on the countries participating in the meetings of the Arab Administrative Development Or
» Parliamentary Endowments: 39 thousand pilgrims, Iraq’s share, and waiving the religious obligation i
» Washington refers to Iraqi legislation that “does not harm” his international presence, and Baghdad
» Deputy: Extending the legislative term depends on sending the budget schedules
» Parliamentary Legal: 88 draft laws on the parliamentary shelf
» The head of the movement denies any Iraqi-American negotiations to remove the coalition
» A deputy expects to resolve the issue of electing the Speaker of Parliament next week
» Obtaining the approval of the Minister of Electricity to fill the energy shortage in Dhi Qar
» Economist on the decline in dollar prices: My time and it will not reach its official price
» The Iraqi Ministerial Council for National Security approves the 2024-2028 strategy
» Mulla Bakhtiar: Nechirvan Barzani's visit to Iran melted the ice between Erbil and Tehran
» Password "78"... Why did the Sudanese government's interrogations and noisy sessions decline?
» JP Morgan forecasts an increase in the oil capacity of Iraq and other countries in 2025
» Turkish Minister of Transport: The development road will cost $20 billion
» The Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment approves a package of strategic projects
» Work: Preparing a unified national strategy to create job opportunities for youth
» The Prime Minister's financial advisor reduces the risks of the budget deficit
» Sudanese announces the signing of an agreement with Japan to finance small and medium enterprises in
» Government Advisor: The Securities Commission represents the governance base for promoting financial
» A unified national strategy to create job opportunities for youth
» A one-week deadline to decide the position of Speaker of Parliament
» Parliament: We coordinate with the competent regulatory authorities to examine medicines
» The Commission suspends the Kurdistan Parliament's voting procedures
» $100 million to localize the pharmaceutical industry
» Increase in external remittances at the Central Bank
» A government advisor reduces the risks of a budget deficit
» Culture: We seek to invest in the stability of the country to advance the tourism sector
» Integrity announces the results of a questionnaire on bribery in real estate registration department
» Parliament comments on Sudanese plan to restructure the government apparatus: It needs radical refor
» The dollar rises again against the Iraqi dinar in Baghdad
» Politician: The government does not deal transparently with the issue of expelling the Americans
» A government bank participating in an accounting project
» Masrour Barzani: The Kurdistan Regional Government has implemented all its obligations and duties
» French Consul: France strengthens relations with the Kurdistan Region
» Studies Center: Sudanese faces the challenges of maintaining sustainable relations with the United S
» “The absence of democracy is not possible.” The federal government remains silent on the postponemen
» Taqadum Party: The absence of the Speaker of Parliament disrupted the general amnesty law
» The file of oil export through Turkish territory is under the control of politicians
» For the sake of the position of president and the budget schedules... there is a preference for exte
» “If you bring the equipment, let’s begin.” Revealing the secrets of Erdogan’s visit to Iraq and the
» Parliamentary moves to approve the Human Organ and Tissue Bank Law
» Electricity embarks on an 11-axis plan to develop the energy sector
» Al-Asadi announces work on legislating a law on occupational health and safety
» Al-Rasheed: Increasing the amount of loans for restoration and maintenance of buildings to 50 millio
» Under the chairmanship of Al-Sudani, Reconstruction and Investment agree on projects related to elec
» Baghdad and Tehran.. New discussions regarding railway connectivity to transport visitors between th
» Immigration: Our plan focuses on the voluntary return of displaced persons and rejecting their house
» An Iraqi trade delegation in Iran to facilitate the export of agricultural crops to Iraq
» Sudanese launches work on the Union Mills Project in Babil Governorate
» Parliamentary demands to resolve the selection of the Speaker of Parliament next week: So far, there
» Sudanese inaugurates a sugar production factory expansion project and three other factories
» Al-Sudani confirms the unlimited support from the government to develop the success story in the pri
» From Babylon... Al-Sudani announces the referral of the large Hilla sewerage project, phase two, to
» Al-Sudani: The factories that opened in Babylon provide more than 4,000 job opportunities
» A representative calls for the payment of lucrative compensation to farmers after the flooding of wh
» Government Advisor: The Securities Commission represents the governance base for promoting financial
» utube MM&C 5/7/24 Iraq Dinar- IQD Update - Regional Trade - A Progession of Reforms - A Global Bac
» MM&C The Iraqi Private Banks Association told NEWS: These are the results of the Prime Minister’s me
» After a break of more than 9 years.. the resumption of a government trade meeting between Iraq and A
» Deputy: The general amnesty law will be passed
» A change in the fuel smuggling map... “control” over the central ports and “laxity” in the north
» Al-Sudani takes three urgent decisions to block the wheat mafias in Iraq
» Electricity embarks on an 11-axis plan to develop the energy sector
» “Thug and smuggler.” A female representative talks about a crocodile in Parliament blackmailing exec
» Al-Sudani told the US State Department: Iraq is keen to strengthen its democratic system
» The Central Bank sells more than $275 million at auction today
» The Minister of Commerce stresses the observance of the Iraqi standard in the supply of goods
» The Iraqi Trade Bank announces its participation in the process of localizing the salaries of Kurdis
» Iraq adopts an advanced system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing
» Increase in Euphrates River levels due to Turkish water releases
» Demands the need to legislate the capital law
» Parliament decided to extend the legislative term by one month
» A bank participating in the process of localizing the salaries of employees in the region
» Parliamentary request to the Ministry of Finance regarding defense mobilization dues/document
» Dollar prices in Baghdad and Kurdistan today
» Al-Rasheed decides to increase the ceiling for granting “construction” loans to 75 million dinars
» A government plan to expand the construction of water harvesting dams
» Frozen or banned? An Iranian official reveals the fate of Tehran’s money in Baghdad
» The Iraqi Trade Bank participates in the process of localizing the salaries of Kurdistan Region empl
» Finance confirms the Iraqi government's desire to benefit from the expertise of French companies
» After targeting its branch in Kurdistan... Dana Gas announces a decrease in its profits to $38 milli
» A parliamentary understanding to extend the legislative term to approve the 2024 budget schedules
» Stopping the Commission’s procedures regarding the region’s elections
» Foreign oil companies violate Iraqi laws
» The position of Speaker of Parliament depends on the political agreement
» The Ministry of Finance decides to send the April salary to the Kurdistan region
» It did not reach the Council.. Parliament determines the mechanisms for dealing with the 2024 budget
» 88 projects awaiting resolution.. What will happen to the stalled laws in Parliament? - Urgent
» Al-Sudani receives the US Undersecretary of State