The Kingdom of Jordan is in a parlous state. Just a year ago, it was looking forward to 2.5% growth in the economy in 2021; now it predicts a 3% contraction instead, a colossal drop. Poverty levels now approach 20%. The Debt to GDP ratio is 96%; unemployment is at 19%. Minister of Finance Mohamad Al-Ississ has said: “This year’s budget is the most difficult for Jordan ever. The coronavirus pandemic and exceptional regional circumstances have minimized growth.”
Jordan has blotted its copybook with several of the rich Sunni Arab states by refusing to endorse the Abraham Accords. When the half-brother of Jordanian King Abdullah II, Prince Ali bin Hussein, shared an article which criticized the Accords, he “reportedly caused a diplomatic stir” between the UAE and Jordanian leadership. King Abdullah reached out personally to Prince Hussein to ask Hussein to delete the tweet. King Abdullah’s actions reflects the Jordanian leadership’s concern for the tens of thousands of its citizens working in the Emirates, whose temporary worker status could be threatened if the Jordanian state criticized the Accords. These workers are part of the remittance economy that Jordan depends on for billions of dollars annually; the country can ill afford having its nationals lose their jobs in the U.A.E. Thus, even those against normalization in the Jordanian government have felt the pressure to stay silent. But the Emirates knows that in opinion polls, more than 60% of Jordanians have expressed their opposition to the Abraham Accords, and this is cause for resentment in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Jordan has unnecessarily created a contretemps with Israel. The Jordanians had arranged with Israel for the Crown Prince, Hussein ibn Abdullah, with a group of armed security men, to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque. The details had been worked out and agreed upon, as to the numbers of armed men, and the arms they would be allowed to carry, who would accompany the Crown Prince. But when the party reached Israel’s border, there were far more men, and more heavily armed, than had been agreed upon, and they, though not the Crown Prince himself, were refused entry by the Israelis. Instead of cutting back his retinue to the previously agreed size, the Crown Prince angrily cancelled his trip to Al Aqsa, and the Jordanian government added its own condemnation of Israel to his.
The Al-Aqsa trip had been planned to emphasize Jordan’s role as the sole Muslim guardian of the Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif), at a time when two other countries have shown an interest in sharing that responsibility, or even in replacing Jordan altogether. The first country is Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has neo-Ottoman ambitions to reestablish a Turkish presence in former Ottoman lands, and to promote a Turkish role in Jerusalem, where the Turkish government has already established an office to reach out to Jerusalem’s Arab population; Turkey has begun to invite Palestinian Arabs in East Jerusalem to visit Turkey on subsidized trips. Through its Palestinian allies, who were recently allowed by Jordan to put representatives on the Waqf Council, which governs the Temple Mount, and which Jordan controls, Turkey hopes eventually to have its own representatives on the Waqf Council. The entire Arab world — save for the Palestinians — is against that development, and it’s impossible to believe it could ever happen.
But Saudi Arabia also would like a role in the Waqf Council, and it may be hard for Jordan to deny it, given how much aid Jordan has received from the Saudis directly as aid, and the billions of dollars the country receives in remittances from Jordanian workers in Saudi Arabia, workers whom the Kingdom could expel in retaliation if Jordan were to refuse to share control of the Waqf Council with the Saudis. The Jordanians may huff and puff, but as of now they are in no position to deny the Saudis their wish. Once on the Waqf Council, it’s not hard to imagine the Saudis attempting to wrest control of the Council from Jordan which, economically, is so dependent on the Kingdom. Israel’s deepening alliance with Saudi Arabia suggests it will not only be pleased with a Saudi role on the Waqf Council, but will also secretly support a Saudi bid to supplant the Jordanians altogether. This prospect terrifies the Jordanians, whose prestige in the Arab world depends on Jordan continuing to control the third-holiest site in Islam. If it loses that role, what will it have left?
Given all this, shouldn’t the Biden Administration, taking advantage of Jordan’s desperate economic situation, threaten to cut its aid to Jordan – the country is the third largest recipient of American aid, for no good reason I can think of — unless it hands over the terrorist murderer Ahlam al-Tamimi, who planned and helped carry out the Sbarro Pizzeria massacre, in which 15 were killed, including seven children, and 130 wounded? Two of those killed were Americans, a third American was wounded, and has been in a vegetative state for the last 20 years. Ahlam al-Tamimi has become quite a celebrity in Jordan, where she was given her own television show and now appears as a media personality, telling her adoring public that she has never regretted her attack on the pizzeria; she chose a target where she knew there would be lots of mothers with children; she would do it again if she had the chance; she only regrets that there were not even more victims. A moral monster who deserves to face American justice for killing and wounding Americans, Al-Tamimi is being protected by Jordan, which refuses to hand her over to our courts. Very well, then, the Americans should refuse to hand over to Amman the more than $1 billion Jordan has continued to receive annually from Washington. That’s our quid for their quo. How long can Jordan, deprived, for other reasons, of aid from its former friends Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., hold out against a resolute America?
Infidel says
Looks like unlike his father and grandfather, the crown prince is woke. If he keeps this up, Israel could, thru private channels, remind him that whenever he becomes king, Israel can expel every Palestinian to Jordan and make that his problem, forcing a rerun of 1970
Kepha says
The Crown Prince knows that his great-grandfather was assassinated in front of his grandfather for daring to suggest peace with “the Zionist entity”. His grandfather srvived by playing his hand very carefully. He also knows that most of his population is Falastin Arab.
gravenimage says
+1
LB says
I don’t know about that. Israel is under a UN microscope and even just sour looks from IDF towards “Palestinians” can result in some arbitrary legislation to Israel’s detriment if PA cries loud enough. Can you imagine the absolute global fallout that would ensue if Israel actually rounded up all “Palis” and extradited them to Jordan? Even if there wasn’t a single casualty, the outcry would be so huge that it could potentially ignite WW3, not even exaggerating.
In reality, Israel is stuck taking (verbal) shots from everyone (arrogant muslim royalty included) without the ability of responding in return. That is, of course, unless Israel was directly (militarily) attacked, in which case the IDF and MOSSAD have full justification to completely annihilate that threat off the face of the Earth with surgical precision, as they have done (with great success) thus far.
moqifen says
i went to jordan in 2016 – basically just to visit Petra. It’s not such a shithole as morocco or Egypt is one good thing about it. However at the time the country was in trouble as it’s 3 sources of income are a) tourists, b) phosphates c) remittances from abroad. To make up for shortfalls in a) jordan imposed a 20% tax on tourists – that’s Arab logic for you.
Wellington says
I have to wonder if Biden could even find Jordan on a map or off the top of what’s left of his head name the capital of Jordan. I don’t mean to be cruel here, rather I mean to point out that right now for the first time in American history the POTUS is a true figurehead, in the early stages of dementia, and presently the Chief Executive of America is, de facto, not a single person but a committee—and a damn doofus of a committee at that.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
A correct assessment of Sleepy Joe and his handlers.
I’m thinking that it’s very likely that his handlers like Sleepy Joe just the way he is – a somewhat demented, corrupt, globalist, dim bulb, etc.
So easy to control, e.g., “Just sign here, Mr. (cough) President”…
tim gallagher says
Wellington,I saw a few bits of Biden’s press conference and I have seen several times that moment in the press conference where he just gave up and stopped his answer. It was typical of other footage of Biden just totally losing track of what he is talking about. It is pathetic to watch. Do you think he will last long or will he step aside and hand the job over to Harris before long? I suspect that, having become President, he might think that that is mission accomplished. I’m guessing that reaching the Presidency is what he would always have had as his goal. As you say, James, I believe that the people around him probably love having him the way he is and they enjoy running the show and enjoy having him very dependent on them. them. It is terrible, and scary, seeing such a major power having such a person in the top position.
Wellington says
I believe the plan, tim gallagher, is to try to get Biden to January 21,2023, deuce difficult though this will be, because then Kamala Harris would be constitutionally eligible pursuant to the 22nd Amendment which became part of the Constitution in 1951 to serve two full terms AFTER serving out Biden’s term. If she becomes President (horror!) before January 21st, 2023 then she would be only able to run for one more term as President because the 22nd Amendment disallows more than two terms for a President but four years minus two years and one day pursuant to this Amendment in Section 1 does not constitute a full term. So, this means that Kamala Harris could, constitutionally speaking, serve as much as ten years minus a day as President. Damn depressing to put it mildly.
The Democrats mean to destroy the Republican Party by any means necessary. Nationalizing elections and getting rid of the Senate filibuster are just two of many measures the now dictatorial and unpatriotic Democratic Party are trying to do to ensure permanent one-party control. America stands right now on the precipice. The Democrats want to shred the Constitution, especially the First and Second Amendments. This is why I have maintained for well over a year now that no patriotic American can justify remaining a Democrat any longer for ANY reason.
gravenimage says
Scary scenario–and probably accurate.
tim gallagher says
Thanks for the very enlightening information, Wellington. These are certainly troubled times in many ways. Biden’s government seem bound to do a hell of a lot of damage over the next few years. Biden’s government is extremely bad news for the entire world. On the rule about a President being only able to serve two terms, do you think that there is any truth in the idea which I have heard a commentator here in Australia mention, that Obama is possibly almost serving another term by pulling the strings on his old, puppet like Vice President Biden, and that Obama is still therefore wielding a great deal of power, or is it a nonsense idea? I can’t remember which commentator I heard mention this, but apparently Obama had actually mentioned possibly running the show from behind the scenes in an interview he did some time ago.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
Thanks for the U.S. Constitution information regarding the 22nd Amendment.
10 years of Harris would definitely ruin the United States – beyond repair…
Wellington says
I think it highly likely, tim, that Obama is serving a third term de facto. HIs principal contact in the present administration I presume to be Susan Rice who is the director of national policy in the Biden Administration. Of course, Kamala Harris may or may not resent this, others might too—no honor among thieves and all that.
I have to wonder as Biden continues to fail cognitively, and he will, if he won’t start to get belligerent and resent the fact that he is a front man and not really in charge. It’s possible and in that case he will have to go though his “handlers” almost certainly will have to dig up an excuse that would not include dementia because they have denied this all along. Perhaps a “heart issue” will arise respecting why Biden will have to resign. His one son, Beau, did die of cancer, so that is a possibility as well. I don’t see how Biden can last until January of 2025 let alone serve a second term. Besides, Kamala Harris like Tiny Tim is “champing at the bit.” for her version of “Christmas Day.” Matters very fluid right now and America is definitely suffering because of this.
tim gallagher says
Thanks for that information, Wellington. As you say, America is suffering, but this Biden administration, or Harris or Obama administration, is going to do plenty of damage to the entire world. After I mentioned the idea of Obama possibly running the show from behind the scenes, I thought, well, that wouldn’t really matter, because all these clowns probably have pretty much the same policies anyway. So, whether Obama has a substantial say in things or Harris and her left wing mob are running things, they would all be aiming to do the same types of things. I suspect that Biden’s mental faculties will slide pretty quickly, though he already seems very far gone.
tim gallagher says
I suspect those hopeless economic statistics that are listed for Jordan in the report would be exactly what every Muslim country would be like except that some Muslim Arab countries happen, through pure dumb luck, to have oil which has provided the useless countries with huge and undeserved wealth. I’m sure that barbaric, backward, and endlessly over breeding Muslim countries everywhere would be absolute basket cases economically except when having oil saves them from that fate.
James Lincoln says
tim,
The Western world would’ve been much better off if oil had never been discovered in the Middle East…
Wellington says
Thoroughly agree, James.
tim gallagher says
I agree,James and Wellington. The wealth that oil gives the Muslim Arab countries gives them power. Without that wealth and power, we could pretty much ignore these enemy countries. They simply wouldn’t matter at all. They could go on living their barbaric, primitive lifestyle and we wouldn’t need to care at all. I have often thought that if Australia, which still depends very much on Middle East oil, did ban Muslim migration, then the Muslim countries might stop providing us with oil and our economy would be in big trouble.
Infidel says
James
Very insightful observation!
James Lincoln says
Thanks, Infidel.
gravenimage says
The Quite Unnecessary Kingdom of Jordan
…………..
They aren’t the worst Muslim state–they have a *lot* of competition–but they are pretty useless at best.
They give asylum to Jihadists:
“Interpol to drop arrest warrant for ‘Palestinian’ jihad murderer Ahlam al-Tamimi”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/interpol-to-drop-arrest-warrant-for-palestinian-jihad-murderer-ahlam-al-tamimi
Trump considered cutting aid to Jordan last year because of this. I ‘m sure it is fine with Biden.
And they crush freedom of speech and whitewash Islam all the time:
“Jordan condemns Muhammad cartoons and ‘misleading attempts to link Islam with terrorism’”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/10/jordan-condemns-muhammad-cartoons-and-misleading-attempts-to-link-islam-with-terrorism
They also hate Israel and are a center of “Honor Killings”.
jewdog says
Very doubtful that the Biden admin would withhold aid to Jordan. They would no doubt tut-tut about Jordan’s sheltering of al-Tamimi, but fear of instability will always keep Jordan in the green. It’s somewhat analogous to the moral blackmail that banana republics practiced to get aid or threaten to go Communist. The expectation bar in the region is limbo low. The function of Jordan is to be a sort of neutral buffer; it’s too just bad that it couldn’t all be sand.
gravenimage says
I doubt the Biden administration will say *anything* against Jordan sheltering Jihadists.
Jake says
Recently Jordan asked for more water from Israel. Naturally they spit in Israel in public, but privately ask for water. Apparently Israel has this far refused. Good for them.