Small Wars Journal

When Friends Like Jordan Steal Weapons Meant For Syrian Rebels

Sat, 07/02/2016 - 5:26am

When Friends Like Jordan Steal Weapons by the New York Times Editorial Board

Skeptics of American efforts to arm anti-government rebels in Syria have long worried that weapons could be diverted to opposing forces or terrorists. But they did not expect diversion by members of Jordan’s vaunted intelligence service, which was working with the United States to train the rebels. Revelations, by The Times and Al Jazeera, of just such theft have shown how even a supposedly stalwart ally can undermine American interests and aid its enemies.

In a joint investigation, the news organizations found that Jordanian intelligence agents had systematically stolen and sold on the black market millions of dollars of weapons shipped into the country by the C.I.A. and Saudi Arabia for use by Syrian rebels. Some of the weapons were used in a shooting in November in which a Jordanian officer killed two Americans and three others at a police training facility in Amman, they reported.

The news is shocking in part because the United States has long considered Jordan one of its closest allies in the region…

Read on.

Comments

Outlaw 09

Sat, 07/02/2016 - 7:33am

Why does and or did this surprise anyone .....social media and ME SMEs have been saying that Jordan was and is playing a double game with the US and the rest of the Arab Sunni ME...especially towards Russia....FOR literally the last six years or so......

BUT hey it is just social media and a handful of ME subject matter experts that thoroughly know the area and their voices do not matter inside this Obama/Rhodes WH or for that matter inside DC.....anyway..so why listen to them and or read anything they have to say????