The Pentagon needs to explain who was responsible for providing sensitive information about Jordan’s role in training moderate Syrians to fight the Islamic State, two key Senate Armed Services Committee members said Wednesday.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they are pushing to find out who made the decision to reveal Jordan’s role in establishing one of four sites to train and equip up to 1,200 vetted Syrians and then return them to fight against the Islamic State.
The information was part of a briefing provided to the news media by a U.S. Central Command official on the condition of anonymity. The briefing also revealed extensive planning and Centcom’s efforts to train and prepare up to 25,000 Iraqis for a spring offensive in Mosul to defeat up to 2,000 Islamic State fighters who are occupying the northern Iraq city.
McCain said he has been in communication with Centcom commander Gen. Lloyd Austin to investigate how the information was divulged.
“General Austin and I have been exchanging phone calls, he’s supposed to talk to me,” McCain said.
Graham said he also wants to know how Jordan’s role was provided to the press without its leaders’ consent.
“Everybody’s denying any knowledge. Everybody says, I don’t know what happened,” Graham said. “What kind of outfit are we running?”
McCain said Jordanian officials have reached out to him, and “the Jordanians are very unhappy about that, understandably.”
Jordan recently increased its attacks against the Islamic State by increasing its involvement in Operation Inherent Resolve and conducting airstrikes on Islamic State posts in Syria and Iraq.
Syrian President Bashar Assad continues to strike against rebels in a civil war that has consumed Syria since 2011, leaving the weakened country vulnerable to the Islamic State. The terrorist organization has assumed control of almost the entire northern half of Syria, spanning from its western border with Turkey across to its eastern border with Iraq.
But any involvement by Jordan in providing a site to train even moderate Syrian rebels — even those who Centcom has said will be heavily vetted to assure they attack the Islamic State only — leaves Jordan vulnerable to the risk of an expanded conflict with its northern neighbor if Assad decides that the U.S.-vetted and equipped rebels turned from defending their cities from the Islamic State to defending themselves from Syrian government attacks.
A call to the Jordanian Embassy for comment was not returned.
Graham said he had not heard from any Jordanian officials, but he “didn’t need to hear displeasure” from them to understand the sensitivities involved.
“I can only imagine how they feel,” Graham said.
Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect that Jordan has conducted airstrikes in Syria.
