MidEast

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Graham: Syria Spillover May Collapse Jordan Monarchy

by TheTower.org Staff |

Senator Lindsey Graham talked to CNN yesterday about the prospects that the Jordanian monarchy will survive the strain of Syrian war spillover. Prognosis: uneven:

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that “If [the Syrian civil] war doesn’t end soon, the king of Jordan is going to be a casualty.”… Graham spoke shortly after American officials confirmed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own population. Following a briefing to senators by Secretary of State John Kerry, Graham called on the administration to develop a strategy “to contain the fighting so the Kingdom of Jordan does not fall.”

Over half a million refugees have flooded into Jordan from across the Syrian border, putting enormous strain on Amman’s capacity for maintaining security and economic stability. Nearly 1,500 refugees entered the country this week alone:

-A total of 1,478 Syrian refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly, as well as 8 injured Syrians, have entered the Kingdom during the past 24 hours, a Jordan Armed Forces source said. Border guards operating along the 37 kilometer-long border received the refugees and later transferred them to areas prepared for refugees by the Jordan Armed Forces.

Security forces were already struggling to prevent a security collapse last fall. Since then efforts by the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood have not been helpful as regards political stability. Jordan also faces direct security threats, with Syrian ruler Bashar-al Assad having threatened Amman over the support that it lends to Syrian opposition forces.

The collapse of Jordan would leave the U.S. with one fewer ally in a region that has seen the collapse of several pro-U.S. governments in recent years. The administration is obviously concerned. Earlier this week the U.S. confirmed that it was deploying hundreds of soldiers to Jordan to bolster the Hashemite kingdom’s efforts, while rumors continue to swirl that U.S. Patriot missile batteries will be deployed along the Jordanian-Syrian border.

[Photo: John Orrell / Flickr]

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