Why Jordan is moving troops to Iraq border
Jordan鈥檚 King Abdullah is making good on his promise to hit Islamic State (known both as IS and ISIS) militants hard in retribution for murdering Jordanian pilot Muath Kassasbeh. After launching new air strikes last week, King Abdullah has now deployed 鈥渢housands鈥� of troops to its border with Iraq to escalate its show of force against the terrorist organization, has reported.
Matthew Henman, an analyst at Jane鈥檚 Terrorism and Insurgency Centre in London, said this move seems to be an 鈥渋ntensification鈥� of ongoing efforts to stop IS movement of fighters and weaponry, as well as to secure Jordanian borders.
鈥淚t underlines a robust response on the part of government and the king in response to the killing of Muath Kassasbeh,鈥� Mr. Henman said.
On Tuesday, February 3, the military group released a propaganda video of the imprisoned Jordanian pilot being burned alive. While it is uncertain when the event took place, a Jordanian spokesperson said the murder happened over a month ago. The savagery of the video sent shock waves worldwide, and Jordan is now responding with force.
Less than 12 hours after the video was released, Jordan retaliated by executing two Iraqi prisoners as a declaration of 鈥�punishment and revenge鈥� against the group. They have amped up their air strikes, and have now deployed troops to the border to physically block IS action on the ground.
What does Jordan hope to accomplish with this robust response?
King Abdullah has made it clear that he is enraged by IS acts, and that he fully intends to respond accordingly. In a meeting with US lawmakers, he聽incited the violent Clint Eastwood film 鈥淯nforgiven鈥� to provide a framework for his approach:
鈥淎ny man I see out there, I鈥檓 gonna kill him. Any [expletive] takes a shot at me, I鈥檓 not only going to kill him, I鈥檓 going to kill his wife and all his friends and burn his damn house down,鈥� one of Eastwood鈥檚 characters says in the film. In addition, King Abdullah told the Examiner: 鈥淭he only problem we鈥檙e going to have is running out of fuel and bullets.鈥�
Abdullah pledged to hit IS militants 鈥渉ard in the very center of their strongholds,鈥� . He believes it is necessary because 鈥渢his terrorist organization is not only fighting us, but also fighting Islam and its pure values.鈥�
The IS militant groups occupy large areas north and west of Baghdad. They were stopped short of the capital by Iraqi forces last June, but are still able to carry out lethal attacks, . On Monday, a suicide bomber killed 14 people in Baghdad, prompting more military action and an attempt to reclaim Iraq from the terrorist organization.
With Jordanian troops deploying to the Iraqi border, that this may provide an opportunity for Jordan and Iraq to work together in regaining territory, with the Jordanians holding the border as 鈥渁n anvil for the Iraqi hammer that aims to crush ISIS forces.鈥� Air strikes are not nearly as effective as manpower when it comes to reclaiming the urban territory IS has claimed as its own.
:聽鈥淕round forces are the only way to roll back ISIS. They hold territory, and very specifically urban territory that makes it politically impossible to annihilate them into retreat from air power alone. Even if they did pull back, a lack of boots on the ground to hold liberated ground would mean it wouldn鈥檛 be liberated for long.鈥澛�
