From David Anthony Hohol…
Earlier this month, on the eve of his trip to Washington, Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned if peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved, then Israel’s long-term future is in jeopardy.
The young Monarch declared, “I think the long-term future of Israel is in jeopardy unless we solve our problems. I think wasting too much time is something that we all have to be very concerned about because there is tremendous tension in the region.”
“Over the Israeli-Lebanese border; if you spoke to some Lebanese today they feel there is going to be a war any second. It looks like there is an attempt by certain groups to promote a third intifada, which would be disastrous. Jerusalem as you are well aware is a tinderbox that could go off at any time, and then there is the overriding concern about military action between Israel and Iran,” King Abdullah said.
“So with all these things in the background, the status quo is not acceptable; what will happen is that we will continue to go around in circles until the conflict erupts, and there will be suffering by peoples because there will be a war.”
King Abdullah also stated that the Arab World cannot always count on the United States to solve thier problems, most notably due to the fact they have many other priorities at the moment, with rebuilding the econony being most important to America at present.
“The economic challenges have also not helped in prioritizing the peace process. Having said that, I know very well that Obama and his administration are extremely committed to the two-state solution and moving the process forward. But they’ve had other things to deal with,” he said.
The King claimed the next few months are to be as important to the peace process as any other time in recent memory. “It is Jordan’s job is to keep common sense and keep hope alive until America can bring its full weight on the Israelis and the Palestinians to get their act together and move the process forward,” he decalred.
He went on to state events over the last two years have made him “extremely skeptical and concerned” about Israeli policy. He also claimed that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “does not mean that this evil will evaporate, but definitely, it will take a big chunk out of the challenges that we have in this region.”
It should be noted that Kind Abdullah is roundly considered to be an incompetent and self-righteous leader by most Jordanians. If a stranger asks them for their thoughts on Abdullah, they will sing his praises however, as there is a zero tolerance policy when it comes to criticizing the King. Jordanian citizens have been jailed, tortured or worse for offering negative commentary on Abdullah’s leadership.
This fear generates the false apotheosis of Abdullah. Pictures and billboards of the King are every in Amman. Shops are named after him and photos of the King adorn the walls of even the smallest businesses. To the outsider, once again it appears that the people love their King, but this is also done out of fear. Further still, all those businesses who name their shops after the King and display his pictures and photos are given a tax break for doing so.
Lastly, throughout the Middle East, King Abdullah’s family are seen as traitors. Jordan is the only Arab country to sign a “peace deal” with Israel – a deal that amounted to little more than Kind Abdullah receiving payments from the Israeli government, so Jordan could be pointed to by the Israelis as an example of a “cooperative” Arab country. This deal was signed by his father King Hussein , while his grandfather, King Abdullah I, was killed by Palestinians for working with Israel to secure Palestine as their own. While Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considered the other two betrayers by Palestine, for Palestinians, there is no greater traitor than the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The King recently stated that Jordan was better off financially before the peace treaty with Israel, which some have called tough language. In reality, it’s just politcal pandering to the recently tough stance on Israel by Obama’s administration. Abdullah sat in silence, as did much of the Arab World, during the Bush presidency and most notably didn’t make so much as a sound during the slaughter in Gaza. What made his refusal to engage at that time so remarkable is that two thirds of the Jordanian population is made up of displaced Palestinians. The current falling out between the US and Israel has led to Abdullah jumping on board and this is why so many of his people despise him – he will go whichever way the wind is blowing, just as long as it is good for him; whether it is good or bad for his people comes second.
Abdullah just returned from a trip to Washington where, for all intents and purposes, he left a good impression of himself. Despite what anyone might think of him, he is a a strategic thinker, extremely artculate, and well spoken. He said all the right things in terms of Israel, Iran and Palestine and to his credit, projects an affiable and moderate image of the Arab World to the West.
With that said, some of Abdullah’s attrubites make him a typical Arab leader, ruling with an iron fist and not tolerating criticism of any kind from his people. He just does it as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a rather Western concept as most Arab World leaders don’t even bother pretending they’re being fair with their people. It seems his expensive American education, a Political Science Degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University in none other than Washington DC, has truly paid off. Make no mistake, Abdullah is as smart as they come and in the end, he is showing himself to be more an accomplished politician than a King. Think of him what you will, the 48 year-old Monarch is a new breed of Arab World leader and one that will undoubtedly survive for decades to come.
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