U.S. to Keep Warplanes in Jordan, Pressing Syria
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — Ratcheting up the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the United States will keep American warplanes and antimissile batteries in Jordan, officials said Saturday.
The decision, which came at the request of Jordan, means that a detachment of American F-16 warplanes and Patriot missile-defense systems would remain in Jordan after a military exercise there concludes next week. The move followed President Obama's decision last week to send arms to Syrian rebels and came as efforts were being made on multiple fronts on Saturday to increase the pressure on the government.
In Cairo, President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt announced that he was severing diplomatic relations with the Syrian government, withdrawing the Egyptian envoy from Damascus and closing the Syrian Embassy in Cairo.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry renewed his efforts to persuade Iraq to curtail Iranian air shipments of arms to Syria.
American officials said Patriot missiles and F-16s would be kept in Jordan to reassure an important ally that has aligned itself with the United States in the political and military campaign against the Assad government.
The Central Intelligence Agency has been training rebels in Jordan under a covert program, and weapons that are to be sent to the opposition by the United States are expected to be funneled through Jordan, both of which might heighten the risk of Syrian retaliation, including against possible training areas.
"The United States enjoys a longstanding partnership with Jordan and is committed to its defense," said George Little, the Pentagon press secretary.
American, Dutch and German Patriot antimissile batteries have already been deployed in Turkey to augment that nation's defense against the threat of an attack with chemical-tipped ballistic missiles.
Benjamin J. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, highlighted the challenges in imposing a no-fly zone in Syria in a conference call with reporters on Thursday, and made it clear that the White House was not eager to take on such an open-ended commitment.
But the Patriots and F-16s would have some utility if the United States decided to support the establishment of a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan. Contingency plans for such a zone, which would be enforced by Jordanian troops on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically by the United States, have already been developed.
The Obama administration is also trying to add to the diplomatic pressure on the Assad government. Mr. Kerry, in a phone conversation on Saturday with Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, called on Iraq "to take every possible measure to help end the military resupply of the Assad regime" and thus increase pressure for a political settlement, according to a statement released by the State Department.
During a March visit to Baghdad, Mr. Kerry pressed the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to inspect Iranian flights that American intelligence says are carrying weapons, supplies and personnel to Damascus to support the Assad government. There was a lull in Iranian flights after Mr. Kerry's visit, but the flights resumed in May.
Although Mr. Kerry told Mr. Zebari that the United States was still seeking a political solution for the Syrian conflict, he also said that the Assad government's use of chemical weapons and the Lebanese group Hezbollah's decision to join the fight on the side of the Syrian government "threatens to put a political settlement out of reach," the State Department said.
Even as the United States sought to build up the pressure on Mr. Assad, however, Mr. Kerry's Russian counterpart pushed back, condemning the White House decision to send arms to the Syrian opposition and challenging its assertions that Mr. Assad's forces had used chemical weapons.
At a news conference in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said that the evidence the Obama administration had relied on in making its charges of chemical weapons use was unreliable because the samples were not properly monitored until they reached a laboratory.
"There are rules of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which are based on the fact that samples of blood, urine, soil, clothing are considered serious proof only if the samples were taken by experts, and if these experts controlled these samples all the time while they are transported to a proper laboratory," he said.
Mr. Lavrov asserted that the use of chemical arms by the Syrian government made no sense, given the current state of the conflict. "The regime has not been driven into a corner now," Mr. Lavrov said. "What sense does it make for the regime to use chemical weapons, especially in such small quantities, only to expose itself?"
The White House referred questions on Mr. Lavrov's charges of faulty intelligence to the director of national intelligence's office, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, told reporters Thursday that chemical weapons were used "on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year." Mr. Rhodes and other American officials said that the assessment was based on evidence that included physiological samples, intelligence on the Assad government's plans for the use of chemical weapons, accounts of specific attacks, and descriptions of symptoms experienced by victims of the attacks.
Britain and France have also said there is convincing evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons, but neither they nor the United States have made their evidence public.
Russia has long supported the Assad government politically and by sending arms. A major concern of the Russians is that American accusations of chemical weapons use will become a rationale for greater American and Western involvement in the crisis, including possible military action.
Toward that end, Russia has also supported the Assad government's refusal to agree to wide-ranging international inspections of potential chemical weapons use.
Mr. Kerry flew to Moscow last month and secured Russia's agreement to hold an international conference that would bring the Assad government and the Syrian opposition to the negotiating table to try to bring an end to the fighting. Since then, however, the Obama administration has become concerned that the advances made by pro-government forces would give Mr. Assad little reason to negotiate a political transition in which he would give up power.
As a result, White House and State Department officials now favor delaying the talks. Supplying arms to the rebels, officials have said, is partly intended to turn the tide enough to force a real negotiation. Mr. Lavrov, by contrast, argued for moving forward with the international conference on Syria.
Egypt's severing of relations with Syria also adds pressure on Mr. Assad. Mr. Morsi's comments on Saturday amounted to a considerable hardening of his stance, after previously insisting on a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict and positioning himself as an interlocutor between Syrian allies like Iran and Mr. Assad's regional opponents, including Saudi Arabia.
A senior adviser to the Egyptian presidency said Mr. Morsi had been swayed by what he said was the "confirmation" of chemical weapons use by the United States and other countries, as well as the reversal of opposition gains in Syria after the intervention by Hezbollah.
Speaking at a rally of his Islamist supporters in a Cairo stadium on Saturday, Mr. Morsi said that at the hands of Mr. Assad's forces, Syrians were subject to "extermination" and "systematic ethnic cleansing sponsored by regional and international forces."
He sharply criticized Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese Shiite militia "must leave Syria" and called for the imposition of a no-fly zone.
"This is serious talk," Mr. Morsi said, to loud cheers.
Mr. Morsi's speech, which was organized by Sunni clerics, seemed likely to satisfy Sunni conservatives throughout the region, who have increasingly framed the war in Syria as a sectarian fight against Shiites, especially Hezbollah.
American officials said that Mr. Morsi's comments on Saturday were not prompted by the United States.
Reporting was contributed by David M. Herszenhorn from Moscow, Kareem Fahim from Cairo and Mayy El Sheikh from Assiut, Egypt.
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By MICHAEL R. GORDON and THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — Ratcheting up the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the United States will keep American warplanes and antimissile batteries in Jordan, officials said Saturday.
The decision, which came at the request of Jordan, means that a detachment of American F-16 warplanes and Patriot missile-defense systems would remain in Jordan after a military exercise there concludes next week. The move followed President Obama's decision last week to send arms to Syrian rebels and came as efforts were being made on multiple fronts on Saturday to increase the pressure on the government.
In Cairo, President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt announced that he was severing diplomatic relations with the Syrian government, withdrawing the Egyptian envoy from Damascus and closing the Syrian Embassy in Cairo.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry renewed his efforts to persuade Iraq to curtail Iranian air shipments of arms to Syria.
American officials said Patriot missiles and F-16s would be kept in Jordan to reassure an important ally that has aligned itself with the United States in the political and military campaign against the Assad government.
The Central Intelligence Agency has been training rebels in Jordan under a covert program, and weapons that are to be sent to the opposition by the United States are expected to be funneled through Jordan, both of which might heighten the risk of Syrian retaliation, including against possible training areas.
"The United States enjoys a longstanding partnership with Jordan and is committed to its defense," said George Little, the Pentagon press secretary.
American, Dutch and German Patriot antimissile batteries have already been deployed in Turkey to augment that nation's defense against the threat of an attack with chemical-tipped ballistic missiles.
Benjamin J. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, highlighted the challenges in imposing a no-fly zone in Syria in a conference call with reporters on Thursday, and made it clear that the White House was not eager to take on such an open-ended commitment.
But the Patriots and F-16s would have some utility if the United States decided to support the establishment of a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan. Contingency plans for such a zone, which would be enforced by Jordanian troops on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically by the United States, have already been developed.
The Obama administration is also trying to add to the diplomatic pressure on the Assad government. Mr. Kerry, in a phone conversation on Saturday with Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, called on Iraq "to take every possible measure to help end the military resupply of the Assad regime" and thus increase pressure for a political settlement, according to a statement released by the State Department.
During a March visit to Baghdad, Mr. Kerry pressed the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to inspect Iranian flights that American intelligence says are carrying weapons, supplies and personnel to Damascus to support the Assad government. There was a lull in Iranian flights after Mr. Kerry's visit, but the flights resumed in May.
Although Mr. Kerry told Mr. Zebari that the United States was still seeking a political solution for the Syrian conflict, he also said that the Assad government's use of chemical weapons and the Lebanese group Hezbollah's decision to join the fight on the side of the Syrian government "threatens to put a political settlement out of reach," the State Department said.
Even as the United States sought to build up the pressure on Mr. Assad, however, Mr. Kerry's Russian counterpart pushed back, condemning the White House decision to send arms to the Syrian opposition and challenging its assertions that Mr. Assad's forces had used chemical weapons.
At a news conference in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said that the evidence the Obama administration had relied on in making its charges of chemical weapons use was unreliable because the samples were not properly monitored until they reached a laboratory.
"There are rules of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which are based on the fact that samples of blood, urine, soil, clothing are considered serious proof only if the samples were taken by experts, and if these experts controlled these samples all the time while they are transported to a proper laboratory," he said.
Mr. Lavrov asserted that the use of chemical arms by the Syrian government made no sense, given the current state of the conflict. "The regime has not been driven into a corner now," Mr. Lavrov said. "What sense does it make for the regime to use chemical weapons, especially in such small quantities, only to expose itself?"
The White House referred questions on Mr. Lavrov's charges of faulty intelligence to the director of national intelligence's office, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, told reporters Thursday that chemical weapons were used "on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year." Mr. Rhodes and other American officials said that the assessment was based on evidence that included physiological samples, intelligence on the Assad government's plans for the use of chemical weapons, accounts of specific attacks, and descriptions of symptoms experienced by victims of the attacks.
Britain and France have also said there is convincing evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons, but neither they nor the United States have made their evidence public.
Russia has long supported the Assad government politically and by sending arms. A major concern of the Russians is that American accusations of chemical weapons use will become a rationale for greater American and Western involvement in the crisis, including possible military action.
Toward that end, Russia has also supported the Assad government's refusal to agree to wide-ranging international inspections of potential chemical weapons use.
Mr. Kerry flew to Moscow last month and secured Russia's agreement to hold an international conference that would bring the Assad government and the Syrian opposition to the negotiating table to try to bring an end to the fighting. Since then, however, the Obama administration has become concerned that the advances made by pro-government forces would give Mr. Assad little reason to negotiate a political transition in which he would give up power.
As a result, White House and State Department officials now favor delaying the talks. Supplying arms to the rebels, officials have said, is partly intended to turn the tide enough to force a real negotiation. Mr. Lavrov, by contrast, argued for moving forward with the international conference on Syria.
Egypt's severing of relations with Syria also adds pressure on Mr. Assad. Mr. Morsi's comments on Saturday amounted to a considerable hardening of his stance, after previously insisting on a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict and positioning himself as an interlocutor between Syrian allies like Iran and Mr. Assad's regional opponents, including Saudi Arabia.
A senior adviser to the Egyptian presidency said Mr. Morsi had been swayed by what he said was the "confirmation" of chemical weapons use by the United States and other countries, as well as the reversal of opposition gains in Syria after the intervention by Hezbollah.
Speaking at a rally of his Islamist supporters in a Cairo stadium on Saturday, Mr. Morsi said that at the hands of Mr. Assad's forces, Syrians were subject to "extermination" and "systematic ethnic cleansing sponsored by regional and international forces."
He sharply criticized Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese Shiite militia "must leave Syria" and called for the imposition of a no-fly zone.
"This is serious talk," Mr. Morsi said, to loud cheers.
Mr. Morsi's speech, which was organized by Sunni clerics, seemed likely to satisfy Sunni conservatives throughout the region, who have increasingly framed the war in Syria as a sectarian fight against Shiites, especially Hezbollah.
American officials said that Mr. Morsi's comments on Saturday were not prompted by the United States.
Reporting was contributed by David M. Herszenhorn from Moscow, Kareem Fahim from Cairo and Mayy El Sheikh from Assiut, Egypt.
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