Syria in focus as Obama lands in Jordan

AMMAN: US President Barack Obama arrived in Jordan yesterday to face scrutiny over his Syria strategy, on the last leg of a Middle East tour after challenging Israelis to embrace peace with Palestinians.
The presidential aircraft landed at Queen Alia Airport near Amman at 1445 GMT, and Obama was welcomed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and other senior officials.
He headed to the royal palace for talks and a private dinner with King Abdallah, a key US ally, on the agony of Syria’s conflict in Jordan, which hosts more than 450,000 refugees from the war-torn country.
Obama will also support political reform efforts inside Jordan, which has been an oasis of relative calm in a region swept by turmoil of the Arab Spring.
The US leader wrapped up a three-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, his first as president with a visit to Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
While the thrust of his Israel trip was reassurance Washington would mount an “eternal” defense of the Jewish state in the face of the Iranian nuclear threat, Obama is to focus on the Syria conflict on his overnight stop in Amman.
The number of Syrian refugees is expected to rise to 700,000 by the end of 2013, as people fleeing the vicious fighting between Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and rebels spill over its borders.
Obama has resisted pouring US arms or ammunition into the conflict, which the UN estimates has cost at least 70,000 lives, but has offered logistical support to rebels and hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid. A senior US official said Obama wanted to coordinate with the king on security challenges and on helping Jordan alleviate the refugee crisis.
“We’re also working very closely with the Jordanian government as part of the coalition of countries that is supporting the Syrian opposition to pressure the regime, to build up the opposition, and try to bring about a new Syria.” In Jerusalem, Obama said the United States was investigating claims chemical weapons had been used in Syria, warning it would be a “gamechanger” and that Assad’s regime would he held accountable.
After a brief meeting with Netanyahu, Obama set off for Bethlehem, traveling by motorcade, not helicopter, after a sudden sandstorm swept the city.
The change of plan gave Obama an unscheduled experience of the eight-meter-tall wall which loops around the West Bank city. As the huge motorcade wound through the steep, narrow streets, crowds of onlookers watched in silence, with no sign of the enthusiasm which usually greets the convoy.