Following on my last couple posts on Syria, comes The New York Times article that reports a substantial shipment of Yugoslav weapons from Croatia paid for by Saudi Arabia, and routed through Jordan have been handed off to the rebels inside Syria. It is entirely possible this sort of thing happens without tacit U.S. approval, but I think that's unlikely.
I want to real quick talk about two things in the report. First the claim that "The weapons' distribution has been principally to armed groups viewed as nationalist and secular." There is a lot of wiggle room in that sentence and since Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan haven't commented on the shipments, I'm curious how the reporters know this is the case? Is it just the intel from photos and videos of secular and nationalist holding these weapons? It's not clearly articulated in the article and it gives me pause.
The second question is if Jordan might have exposed itself to reprisals either from Syria or Hezbollah but reportedly getting these weapons into Syria and to the rebels? I'm very curious how the Assad regime might respond if the reports are substantiated by Syrian intelligence. Without a doubt, they have other things to take up their time, but still. I'd also be curious if Iran utilizes Hezbollah to execute reprisals in Jordan. Jordan is different from Turkey and Saudi Arabia at this point because there is still an undercurrent of political unrest in the country. There is an opportunity, if even a slim one, for an outside party to foment further unrest.
I don't have answers to either of these questions, but as I read the reports I'm encourage there is an effort on any level being made to end the stalemate, but who actually winds up with the guns and what it means for Syria's neighbors remains a concern for me.
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