Jordan: Syria’s chemical weapons could be seized by al-Qaeda

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The king of Jordan warned Wednesday that his northern neighbour Syria was on the brink of all-out civil war and that in a worst-case scenario, chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda.

King Abdullah II told CNN a bomb attack that killed core members of the Syrian regime was a “tremendous blow” to President Bashar al-Assad but not yet the death knell for a regime that remains determined to cling to power.

“In other words, it’s getting very, very messy to a point where I think the worst-case scenario for all of us in the region is when you get full-out civil war. There is no coming back from the abyss,” he said.

Earlier, a bomb attack in Damascus killed key Syrian officials, including Defense Minister Daoud Rajha, Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani, head of the regime’s crisis cell on the uprising.

“Definitely this shows some cracks in the system, but again, I don’t think we should jump to any conclusion writing the regime off in the near future,” King Abdullah said, while warning time was running out for a political solution.

“I think as we continue to pursue the political option, the realities on the ground may have overtaken us. Therefore I think the clock is ticking,” he said.

“I think we should continue to give politics its due. But if we haven’t already passed that window, I think we’re getting very close to it.

“If it breaks down, if civil order breaks down to the point of no return, then it will take years to fix Syria. And I have a feeling we’re seeing signs of that over the past three weeks,” he warned.

“The only people that can bring us back from that brink are obviously the president and the regime. And I believe this is the last chance they have,” he said. “This is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control.”

Asked about reports that Syrian forces have begun moving chemical weapons stocks, King Abdullah said he was concerned that in the event of a descent into all-out war, the arms could fall into extremist hands.

“Our information is that there is a presence of Al-Qaeda in certain regions inside Syria, and has been there for a while,” he told CNN.

“And, again, one of the worst-case scenarios as we are obviously trying to look for a political solution would be if some of those chemical stockpiles were to fall into unfriendly hands,” he warned.

King Abdullah opposes international military action in Syria, but he said that if Assad were to make the “tremendous miscalculation” of turning chemical weapons on his own population, there could probably be a response.

And he said that if such weapons were to fall into the hands of rebel forces – some of which he said are unknown quantities – then even reluctant UN members like Russia might support some kind of international action.

But he said he remains hesitant to arm the Syrian opposition.

“As it comes to chemical weapons falling into rebel hands, I think at the end of the day all of us would suffer from that. I’m sure they would be very accepting of international actions,” he said of Russia.

“But we want to make sure if you’re going to send weapons, specifically weapons, we want to make sure it goes into the right hands and doesn’t end up as I alluded to earlier on in the hands of groups like Al-Qaeda.”

The United States also expressed concern about Assad’s chemical stockpile, warning that any official involved in its use would face the consequences, and adding they had seen no sign of the regime losing control of them.

Guardian

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22 responses to “Jordan: Syria’s chemical weapons could be seized by al-Qaeda”

  1. wargame1 Avatar
    wargame1

    THE PROPAGANDA:

    Syria’s chemical weapons could be seized by al-Qaeda

    Translation: Dog BAshar is going to use chemical weapon on the Syrian Sunni population and blame it on that fantom Alqaeda. 

    Anyway the question is why this bastard keep Chemical weapon as a war weapon? This weapon can destroy any lives  where it is dispensed and this is not a defensive weapon. Anyone who holds this kind of weapon has a sick mind. The list of countries that manufacture these weapon are well known. Shame on these so called democracy and peace makers. 

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Not really propaganda … only political speculation. But I agree on the weapon sickness.

    2. 73Corty77 Avatar
      73Corty77

      I hope he users the chemicals on each and every last Free Syrian Ass Hole. Which the majority are Sunni.
      Wargame, maybe you should go and help your brothers the FSA.

    3. oh yea bro its all alqaeda. lets just sit back n watch wat will happen.

  2. wargame1 Avatar
    wargame1

    THE PROPAGANDA:

    Syria’s chemical weapons could be seized by al-Qaeda

    Translation: Dog BAshar is going to use chemical weapon on the Syrian Sunni population and blame it on that fantom Alqaeda. 

    Anyway the question is why this bastard keep Chemical weapon as a war weapon? This weapon can destroy any lives  where it is dispensed and this is not a defensive weapon. Anyone who holds this kind of weapon has a sick mind. The list of countries that manufacture these weapon are well known. Shame on these so called democracy and peace makers. 

    1. oh yea bro its all alqaeda. lets just sit back n watch wat will happen.

  3. wargame1 Avatar
    wargame1

    THE PROPAGANDA:

    Syria’s chemical weapons could be seized by al-Qaeda

    Translation: Dog BAshar is going to use chemical weapon on the Syrian Sunni population and blame it on that fantom Alqaeda. 

    Anyway the question is why this bastard keep Chemical weapon as a war weapon? This weapon can destroy any lives  where it is dispensed and this is not a defensive weapon. Anyone who holds this kind of weapon has a sick mind. The list of countries that manufacture these weapon are well known. Shame on these so called democracy and peace makers. 

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Not really propaganda … only political speculation. But I agree on the weapon sickness.

    2. 73Corty77 Avatar
      73Corty77

      I hope he users the chemicals on each and every last Free Syrian Ass Hole. Which the majority are Sunni.
      Wargame, maybe you should go and help your brothers the FSA.

    3. oh yea bro its all alqaeda. lets just sit back n watch wat will happen.

  4. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    I think the King is a little late with the warning …

    1. dateam Avatar

      but can they make up their minds is he with alqaeda or not? if hes with is the king implying hel give them to him? if hes not is he implying they will take them? BREAKING NEWS OMAR SLEIMAN HAS REPORTEDLY DIED IN AN AMRICAN HOSPITAL????? so abdullah saleh ends up in america for treatment and now sleiman??? they must be taking advantage of obama care????

  5. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    I think the King is a little late with the warning …

    1. dateam Avatar

      but can they make up their minds is he with alqaeda or not? if hes with is the king implying hel give them to him? if hes not is he implying they will take them? BREAKING NEWS OMAR SLEIMAN HAS REPORTEDLY DIED IN AN AMRICAN HOSPITAL????? so abdullah saleh ends up in america for treatment and now sleiman??? they must be taking advantage of obama care????

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        They are among the few who actually have enough money for the hospital treatment, dateam.
        King Abdullah treads the same fine line that Lebanon does … since EVERYONE shudders at having 20 million refugees land on them … only he’s been able to take in more refugees because he has a country that operates under one set of rules and laws and has one government under one leader. He also works with the UN. He also doesn’t want an extended war like Assad&Family do. (Yes, you can include ‘extended family’ in that.) In fact, King Abdullah tries to adjust to a more modern line of thought to help keep peace for himself and his people, even if the stupid religionists have still too much to do with lines of thought.
        If little groups of brain-dead terrorists spout out that they are ‘aligned’ with any given ‘big’ group of such, the big and the small don’t deny it in hopes it will create fear in the population and make them seem more powerful.
        What we all need to do is speak up for humanity. Ignore the little assholes until someone has them in their sights.

        1. dateam Avatar

          true to a point i guess…unfortunately humanity is last on the list…i actually think and who knows i may be wrong that the religious zelots are used by governments in our region to create this fear among the populous in order to distract people…its like giving a kid a toy just to shut them up for a while…by distracting them youy keep them occupied and controlled and hence take pressure off themselves????

  6. rhis is very very serious, I agree with Russia; We need to stop the rebels on their footpath as if Al-Qaeda gets hold of Chemical weaposn the world is in a real crises.

  7. rhis is very very serious, I agree with Russia; We need to stop the rebels on their footpath as if Al-Qaeda gets hold of Chemical weaposn the world is in a real crises.

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