العاهل السعودي يطلب من ملك الأردن فتح حدوده لتسليح المعارضة السورية

Quote: The Saudi request to Jordan adds to sentiment that Arab leaders have hit the wall in their efforts to resolve Syria's impasse diplomatically. Top officials from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations were notably absent from Thursday's Arab League summit in Baghdad, where leaders called on Damascus to adopt a United Nations plan to stop fighting and begin political dialogue. The plan doesn't call for Mr. Assad to step aside, as the Arab nations had sought. Mr. Assad said Thursday he would support the U.N. plan, but only once foreign countries stopped aiding rebels. Many Middle East officials view Saudi Arabia's arming of Afghan jihadis in the 1980s, through official and unofficial channels, as a prime contributor to the Afghan civil war and the rise of violent Islamic jihad. That has led to worries in many countries over the prospect of Saudi Arabia arming Syrian rebels now. In Baghdad, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that arming the Syrian opposition could invite a repeat of the insurgency and sectarian strife that consumed Iraq for years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. "It will lead to regional and global proxy wars in the Syrian arena," he said. Jordanian officials said they are unlikely to resist Saudi pressure for long. "We are a non-interventionist country. But if it becomes force majeure, you have to join -- this is the story of Jordan," said a top Jordanian official. An arrangement between Saudi Arabia and Jordan, even if informal, would mark the first attempt to send in large quantities of weapons to Syria's rebels. Limited, individual smuggling efforts have so far supplied Assad opponents with light arms. Rebel fighters fleeing escalating regime attacks on anti-Assad strongholds, including Idlib and the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, have said they are running out of ammunition, arms and supplies of medicine. The officials didn't say what sort of arms Saudi Arabia would propose sending. Jordanian officials point to Iraq as a precedent, saying they would expect to support the rebels at the last minute, when sentiment to arm them peaks. Jordan at first denounced the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq but later aided the war effort, despite the lucrative oil deals it held with Iraq. "We have to have both feet on the ground. Do you think we could have turned the tide against the U.S. [Iraq] invasion? Why would Syria be different?" another Jordanian official said. Jordan bought Iraqi oil at well below market values for over a decade before 2003, receiving much of it free in exchange for keeping diplomatic relations strong. Now, Jordan is incurring big budget losses as it buys increasingly expensive oil that it subsidizes at home. The Syrian crisis is already affecting Jordan's economy. Before the conflict, about 70% of Jordan's imports and about 25% of its exports were routed through Syria, according to the country's Transport Ministry, which didn't provide dollar figures. Now those imports and exports have fallen to virtually zero, the ministry says. To help alleviate economic woes, the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, have pumped billions of dollars into Jordan's coffers. Saudi Arabia alone gave nearly $1.5 billion in grants to help Jordan manage its deficit last year. Jordan, which abuts Saudi Arabia and shares a border of nearly 250 miles with Syria, would be the most direct conduit for Saudi arms to the rebels. Lebanon and Iraq also border Syria, but influential blocs of these countries' governments are sympathetic to Mr. Assad. Turkey supports Syria's opposition, but any Saudi arms delivered through Turkey would have to cross land, seas or airspace of countries that support Mr. Assad's government