Wed, August 08, 2012
Jordan's King Abdullah II expressed concern over the use of chemical weapons in neighboring Syria, warning that an ongoing failure to solve the conflict is tipping the country towards an "abyss."
In a pre-recorded interview with U.S. journalist Charlie Rose, Abdullah warned of the growing threat posed by Syria's alleged chemical weapons stockpiles, whose usage is a scenario that he says "scares everybody."
King Abdullah told CBS that he thinks that Syrian President Bashar Assad "in his mentality is going to stick to his guns. He believes that he's in the right. I think the regime feels that it has no alternative but to continue. For Bashar at the moment, if I'm reading the way he's thinking is he's going to do what he's going to do indefinitely. How long does he have to govern greater Syria? Going back to plan B, he could still be in power of certain parts of Syria. It's costing him about a billion dollars a month. If I was to look at the weakness of the regime, I'd look at the finances. So if he has money coming in, technically he should be able to hold on indefinitely. If he runs out of money can't keep the electricity power stations, can't keep the water running and can't keep paying his soldiers - I think that's where the major crack is."
King Abdullah spoke of the concerns related to the chemical weapons. "I hope to God that he wouldn't [use them] because I think that would be a trip wire for many nations in the international community. Gaddafi's miscalculation was the use of his air force against his people. Chemical weapons are something that scares everybody. What scares most of us is the weapons, chemical weapons, falling into rebel hands - and who are those rebels? - and obviously the use of chemical weapons against innocent people. Those weapon sites then need to be secured by the international community. So immediately people have to cross borders with Syria to make sure that those weapons storage depots are secure. I hope that you're not looking at it as a reason for intervention. I think it's a crisis where we have to react. I hope that people are not planning to sort of push whoever they may be to make sure that those storage sites fall into rebel hands because the minute you cross the borders, no plan goes the way you planned it."
(Agencies)
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