The Jordan Times
There is more going on in southern Syria militarily and politically than meets the eye.
What is at stake for Jordan is the increased presence of the Iranian military, with the aid and of the support of the Syrian armed forces.
Damascus has been making military gains all over Syria, including in the environs of the southern Syrian city of Deraa.
Russian planes are heavily involved in the Syrian-Iranian push in the direction of Jordan’s northern border.
Jordan’s patience is understandably running short as any Iranian presence close to its borders is a red line.
Moscow is either unable to rein in Damascus and Tehran or does not want to.
Under the circumstances, Jordan’s options are rather limited, as it has a little clout with Russia, which is orchestrating the entire “show” in Syria.
The US is showing increasing appreciation for Jordan’s fears, and this may explain its downing of two Syrian planes over the past week or so, which caused Moscow to issue its usual threats against Washington.
This escalation leads to the conclusion that there is now a new ball game in Syria, where the two superpowers will be testing their weapons and wills.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has complained that the Syrian skies and lands are getting overcrowded with players.
The game has been further complicated by the sheer number of actors, big and small, on the Syrian theatre.
Not only have more actors entered the scene in Syria, but their positions keep shifting.
The latest is by French President Emmanuel Macron, who announced that removing Syrian President Bashar Assad from power is no longer his government’s top priority.
Since when was Assad’s removal really a priority for Paris anyway? And what difference does what Macron says on Syria make?
With US President Donald Trump changing his position on Syria all the time, one does not know for sure where the US stands on the conflict.
Only Moscow has a crystal clear policy on Syria, and has its forces to back it up.
All the other players are relatively low key, with more rhetoric than action in the conflict.
It is time to bring the problem back to the UN, to its dormant Trustee Council, which exists on paper but without any action.
The UN Trustee Council is a major body empowered to deal with non-governing countries.
I believe Syria now belongs to the category of countries that are not governing themselves in the true sense of the word.
Why not have the Trustee Council get charge of the Syrian case since all other policies and actions have failed?