US Military Buildup on Syria’s Southern Border

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, October 14, 2012
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We are at a very dangerous crossroads.

US and British troops are now stationed in Jordan on Syria’s southern border.  Meanwhile, Turkish troops are being deployed on Syria’s Northern border.

The official story conveyed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at a meeting of defense ministers is that allied troops from the US and Britain are working under a “humanitarian” mandate with the Amman government to monitor alleged chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria as well as help Jordan with the influx of refugees.

A report of the Israeli Intelligence News Service Debka points to “the real reason” of allied troop deployments:

“US troops sent to the Jordan-Syria border are helping build a headquarters in Jordan to bolster its military capabilities in case violence spills over from Syria, suggesting deepening US military intervention in the Syrian conflict.”

The deployment of allied troops on Syria’s southern border are coordinated with actions taken by Turkey and its allies on Syria’s Northern border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has demanded the support of NATO against Syria under the doctrine of collective security.

“We will do what needs to be done if our border is violated again,” he told reporters following  a meeting  in Istanbul with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle

Foreign Minister Davutoglu on Saturday pointed to the alleged violation of Turkey’s border by Syria as a violation of NATO’s borders. Under  Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, an attack on one member state of the Atlantic Alliance is considered as an attack against all NATO member states.

“In this context, we expect the support of our allies”  said Foreign Minister Davutoglu, intimating that both Germany and other member states of the Atlantic Alliance should act to to defend Turkey under the doctrine of Collective  Security:

  “if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith  individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area… (See full text of Article 5  of the Washington Treaty, April 1949)

The original source of this article is Global Research
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2012

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Articles by: Prof Michel Chossudovsky

About the author:

Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Editor of Global Research. He has taught as visiting professor in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. He has served as economic adviser to governments of developing countries and has acted as a consultant for several international organizations. He is the author of 13 books. He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages. In 2014, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit of the Republic of Serbia for his writings on NATO's war of aggression against Yugoslavia. He can be reached at [email protected]

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