Week in Review: MENA – March 14, 2014 Share This /

The United States continues to engage in the Syrian conflict by training a new round of Iraqi special operations forces in Jordan, while conducting high-level meetings throughout the region on bilateral and regional military cooperation. Below is a roundup of some of the top articles and news highlights from around the Middle East and North Africa over the last week:

U.S. Policy:

• In a continuation of previous U.S. counterterrorism aid to Iraqi forces, a small number of U.S. special operations forces are in Jordan training Iraqi troops to fight al-Qaeda. The new training follows stepped-up sales of U.S. weaponry to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and reflects increased concern among U.S. officials about Iraq's security trajectory more than two years after American troops departed. The training is expected is to last through the end of April.
• The U.S. and Israel concluded an agreement on March 5 to continue funding the production of the Iron Dome weapons system. Under the terms of the agreement, $429 million will be transferred immediately to Israel to support Iron Dome procurement, though the agreement includes a new stipulation that Iron Dome components must be largely manufactured in the U.S.

• Brigadier-General John Shapland, chief defense attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, raised the idea of extending Israel's anti-missile umbrella to include Jordan, and possibly Egypt, while speaking at a conference in Israel on Monday.

• According to U.S. officials, the Obama Administration rejected the Egyptian government’s urgent request for the delivery of Apache attack helicopters that Egyptians officials say are needed for counterterrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula. At the same time, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said that the Obama Administration will soon decide on whether to resume military aid to Egypt, including Apache helicopters.

• Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed met on Thursday with the Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. embassy in Sana'a and the director of the office of the U.S.-Yemeni cooperation where they discussed military cooperation, particularly, military training and rehabilitation as well as technical support in the field of counterterrorism.  

• More Western businesses are exploring their commercial options in Iran, but the legality of authorizing business ventures is still unclear. Western banks are weary of fully engaging with Iran, while the U.S. has asked India to cut back on its Iranian oil imports. The U.S. is still grappling with how to deal with Pentagon contractors who are currently seeking to begin business with Iran.

• Deputy National Security Adviser Antony Blinken met with Sigrid Kaag, the international overseer of the chemical-removal operation in Syria, where they discussed the possibility of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons by a June deadline.

Other top security stories:

• The International Support Group for Lebanon has pledged U.S. $17.8 million for the Lebanese Army. Meanwhile, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman commented on a previous Saudi Arabian arms grant worth $3 billion and said that the money will not be limited to any specific type of weaponry.

• A UN report concluded that post-Gaddafi’s Libya has been the source of illicit arms smuggling to several continents, fueling conflict, terrorism and insecurity.

• On Tuesday morning, an Israeli airstrike in the southeast Gaza Strip killed three Palestinian militants who the Israeli military said had fired a mortar at its soldiers patrolling near the border, hours after a pilotless Israeli surveillance drone crashed nearby. Hostilities continued Thursday, risking a break in the 16 month-old cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

• Turkey’s state-owned missile industry, Roketsan, has successfully tested a long-range anti-tank missile, the country’s procurement agency announced.

• Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra welcomed his Malian counterpart to Algiers for security talks on Saturday (March 8th). Lamamra and Zahabi Ould Sidi Mohamed also discussed border security collaboration.

• An Egyptian security source told Al-Monitor, “New elements of the Libyan army have been trained in Cairo over the past year to work as border guards, within the scope of an agreement on military training and rehabilitation by the Egyptian army.” But the source, who preferred to remain anonymous, also confirmed the ongoing disagreement between the Libyan and Egyptian sides about the nature of the threat on the border. Nevertheless, recent talks have broached potential cooperation to prevent the infiltration of Libyan jihadists and arms smuggling to Egypt.

• Egypt's army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for joint military training exercises with the Gulf state, a military source told Al-Ahram's Arabic news website. The defense minister met with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, to discuss "means to develop the joint cooperation in the benefit of both countries."