US-led ’Eager Lion’ Drills near Syrian Border: Aims, Outcomes

The exercises are covering an area along the Syria-Jordan borders close to the Syria's southern provinces of Daraa and As-Suwayda, and are planned to continue up to May 18.
 
Artillery and rocket launchers including Hermes units are used in the operation during the war simulation. The troops are covered by the US air force jets that are based in Jordan's Al Azraq air base, as well as combat helicopters belonging to the Netherlands and Bahrain air forces.
 
Additionally, over 4,500 armed opposition forces are simulating establishment of a security belt in the region, something that pushed the Syrian armed forces in the south of the country to stand on high alert. 
 
The organizers of the war games claimed that the measures come to face the threats coming from the ISIS terrorist group which is active in the Syrian territories, but Damascus and its allies are concerned that it can end in an abrupt ground incursion into Syrian territories.
 
Despite the fact that the drills are held on an annual basis over the past five years, what makes them more sensitive than before this year is the anti-Syrian stances of the Jordanian officials in past few weeks and the warnings that ISIS could pose dangers to the Jordan's territories in the border areas with Syria.
 
Many media reports have interpreted the Jordanian officials' remarks as signs that Amman and its Western allies are seeking military intervention in the war-ravaged Syria.
 
In late April, Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar daily, in an analysis noted that the US and Jordan’s activities on the southern Syria borders indicate that they are waiting ISIS to get close to the border so that they begin their ground offensive inside Syria under the excuse of combating the terrorist group, a move that will allow them split the south from other Syrian territories. Quoting the intelligence sources' reports, the Lebanese newspaper added that imminently the southern province of Daraa will see intense clashes as Washington and Jordan intend to set up a safe zone in the Syrian province under the cover of anti-ISIS operation to prepare the ground for cutting the southern province from the Syrian government’s administration.
 
With the above-mentioned details in mind, the underway “largest military drills” led by Washington, London, and Jordan are worth considering from various aspects.
 
First, geographically, the area of operation starts from the Jordanian borders with the Syria’s Tal Shahab town in Daraa to the zero point Syria-Jordan border which covers the Kharbat Awad village in As-Suwayda.
 
The large-scale military drills along with over 4,000 opposition militants close to Daraa and As-Suwayda, which are located close to the capital Damascus, can open a fresh front line in the country’s south. Any Syrian forces' involvement in a new battleground, particularly in Damascus security belt, will impair their strength and so thwart their sweeping progresses in other areas. This could mean that the terrorists will retake the grounds they lost to the government forces in the past few months.
 
Second, following the recent Russia, Iran, and Turkey-brokered ceasefire deal to set up four de-escalation zones across Syria, the international community has restored its optimism for a final solution to end the devastating war in Syria. But possible military intervention from south will prolong the war and crisis in the country. In fact, the war games that offer training to the Syrian opposition forces and build pressures on the Syrian government and its allies will destroy any foundation laid by the deal to reach a settlement.
 
Finally, the US might seek intervention in Syria's south to further expand the range of conflict to the whole region, an outlook that will allow Washington sell more weapons to its Arab allies.
 
However, it must be taken into account that for military moves in southern Syria the US will face the challenge of the Russian reactions that could be very tough, something the Americans are well aware of.
 
In general, the underway military exercises by the US, Britain, and Jordan carry multiple goals the outcome of which is intensifying conflict in Syria and putting strains on the Iran-led pro-Damascus Axis of Resistance. The anti-Syrian sides are determined to provoke new battle fronts in south to divert attention of the advancing Syrian forces from the main clash points and so check their progresses. The same disruptive escalation by the US and its allies is taking place in Syria’s north with the Kurdish forces standing in the center of the operation.