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07 November 2012 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed Two weeks ago, I visited Amman.
Shortly before the airplane wheels touched the runway,
I was struck by a fear of entering the unknown and of
moving towards a critical stage. This anxiety was
compounded by the fact that a security guard was
sitting on board the aircraft, a somewhat unfamiliar
scene in the aviation world. The guard was sitting
next to the passengers and observed us uninterruptedly
throughout the journey. Prior to my visit came the news that a group of
terrorists had been arrested, having crossed the
Syrian border into Jordan. Then came the details of
those terrorists' targets; shopping malls and
diplomatic headquarters, most notably the US embassy.
Other explosions were also to be carried out in order
to divert attention. Once again we heard the same doubts raised by those
who love to promote them, arguing that governments
often fabricate such terrorist plots in order to
justify tightening their security grip. Yet whilst I
was in Jordan, someone pointed out to me: "It would be
of no benefit to the Jordanian authorities, whether
politically or economically, to publicize rumors of
terrorist groups targeting shopping malls and
diplomatic missions, because such news would
definitely tarnish our country's image. Why would we
do this?" Indeed, after the plot was exposed, the
Jordanian government did not seek to tighten its
security grip, thus I believe we can rule out the
claim that these terrorists are fabricated. Because Jordan is located in the midst of a highly
tensioned area and is a constant target, security
becomes a requirement for survival. In this part of
the world, the security apparatus is the most
important government authority, and it faces a truly
awesome challenge. Yesterday, Jordan was Syria's
gateway for vegetables and tourists, and today it is a
gateway for refugees and fleeing politicians, after
the Turkish route failed and the Syrian rebels were
unable to secure liberated areas. It is for this
reason that the Jordan's current circumstances are
unfavorable, as described by the King himself in his
speech before thousands of citizens. The Jordanian
borders are overcrowded with tens of thousands of
refugees escaping from the Syrian hell, whilst
Jordan's gas imports from Egypt have almost ceased
entirely, although no one knows exactly why.
Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan are
seeking to exploit the revolutionary climate in the
region in order to achieve political gains. Such
pressures may have prompted Jordan to avoid getting
involved in the Syrian revolution thus far, but in the
end geography is stronger than any political decision.
The Syrian regime failed to fully take into account
Jordan's capabilities when it displaced tens of
thousands of Syrians by continuously targeting
villages and cities for more than a year. The al-Assad
regime was only thinking about exporting its crisis as
well as intimidating its neighbors such as the Turks,
the Lebanese and the Jordanians. I met with His Majesty King Abdullah Bin
al-Hussein, who still has clear vision in this cloudy
part of the world, and I heard about his country's
policy for dealing with not only the current situation
but also the immediate future. Jordan is a stable and
successful model of governance, which some regional
powers are trying to destabilize. Jordan has always
been known for its political and Islamic moderation,
whereas the Arab Spring states – and Syria may be
included here at a later stage – have all imposed
stringent political Islam. Of course, we welcome all
forms of moderate Islamist rule, in other words that
which does not seek to exploit religion for political
goals, but in our region we are used to the political
Islam models along the lines of Iran. As for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, some
thought it would be among the first states to be
immersed by the flood of change in the region. They
believed a state of modest economic potential could
not withstand such change, but none of this has
happened. Others also claimed that Jordan's stance at
the beginning of the Syrian revolution was cautious
because it feared the collapse of the dam – the al-Assad
regime – would cause it to drown in the flood as well.
Yet the recent developments, the latest being the
Amman gathering that aimed to build a united Syrian
opposition front, prove that Jordan is more than just
a place for Syrian refugee camps, it is also a capital
for the Syrian revolution. Jordan may in fact be the
most successful in achieving what others have failed
to do, and bring down the al-Assad regime with all its
supports; Iraq, Iran and Hezbollah.
Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai. |