By Mudar Zahran – June 20/16
Many Western and Israeli journalists paint a rosy picture of a Jordan’s “peaceful regime” and “stable throne.” As you will see in the next few lines, those descriptions are very far from the truth.
Even worse, some journalists, do claim “authority” on Jordan’s politics despite failing to do the proper groundwork and research, assuming that spending a week in a five-star hotel in Jordan entitles them to judge the status quo. Some claim authority about Jordan just because they can read Arabic and then translate Jordan’s official state media stories as “exclusive analysis” of their own.
Such practice of deliberate misinformation should worry every American and Israeli, as it does end up feeding wrongful information to the public opinion and eventually influencing decision makers into taking the wrong actions. Therefore, those either uninformed, ignorant or simply sell-out journalists do threaten American, Israeli and Jordanians’ interests.
Here, you will see the pure naked truth presented against the myths that some media people keep misinforming the public with, at best, out of ignorance or, at worst, spreading lies on purpose..
Myth: Israel sees Jordan’s regime as stable and depends on it for security
Fact: A recent Israeli intelligence leak shows that Mossad leadership believes the king and his regime are on their last legs and as such, he will never be able to pass the throne to his heirs. This is one possible reason why Israel is building a $1 billion mega wall across Jordan’s borders. [1]
Myth: Jordan is friendly with all of its neighbors, making it a stable country
Fact: Despite alleged peace with neighbors, Jordan’s king has clearly aligned himself with Syria’s Assad. Why? The King fears that Assad’s fall could bring his own. As a result of his belief, he is close to Assad’s supporter: Iran. He has also been provoking, antagonizing and disturbing Saudi Arabia and Israel. The King’s official media is in the process of inciting not just a war of words against the countries, but anti-Semitic programs (including the stab-a-Jew go to heaven program). In fact, an official Israeli statement recently described Jordan as a “major contributor to the unrest in Jerusalem”, through both: incitement and action. [2]
Myth: Jordan has survived the Arab Spring
Fact: Jordan has been in a total chaos and unrest since 2012. As a result, both the US and UK embassies in Amman have elevated their security warnings for travel in Jordan. Additionally, gun battles are happening in the capital Amman and the south, including Petra tourist area – daily. Gunfire is regularly exchanged between the king’s forces and the angry locals many of whom are simply looking for work or food for their families. With that in mind, anti-regime protests have become regular; and although not massive, they still mimic Egypt’s anti-Mubarak protests that proceeded the 2011 revolution, and extended between 2006 and end of 2010. Which means, those could escalate into a full-scale revolution sooner or later. [3] [4]
Myth: The king is revered, loved and respected by his subjects
Fact: The king, who has placed himself above the Constitution and all Jordanian law, is despised by his subjects, controls them with an iron fist and when they oppose him, they are often thrown in jail. They dub him “Ali Baba” which is equivalent to thief. Jordanians of all backgrounds exhibit sincere hatred for him over social media risking server punishment, which shows the actual level of dismay with the king and the royal family is much greater beneath the surface. Hatred for the king comes from all background, “East Bankers” do even exhibit much more vocal hatred -to the Hashemite family- than other Jordanians. In other words, the claim that “East Banker tribes support the Hashemites” is not only outdated, but also laughable.
Myth: The king of Jordan, lives in Jordan. If he ever leaves Jordan there would be chaos.
Fact: The king of Jordan spends more time out of the country than he does in it. In fact, he has been nominated for a Guinness Book of World Records, Record – as the Monarch holding office the longest in a country that doesn’t live in. Even his office is proud he spent 25% of the year abroad in 2015 alone. This figure does not mention his “undisclosed personal travel”. After careful analysis, with all this time out of the country, one has to wonder how relevant the king of Jordan is to Jordan’s security, not to mention stability.
Myth: The king of Jordan controls the army and intelligence services and therefore he’s an asset to the USA
Fact: Jordan’s king has lost his grip on the army and intelligence. Since the 2012 “November Revolution’, those organizations have become independent and now coordinate directly with the US, UK and Israel. Because of this, the king is irrelevant to Jordan’s security. [5]
Myth: Jordan’s king is fighting ISIL, therefore, he is essential to US interest
Fact: Jordan’s contribution in the war on ISIS has been limited to six F16s and for only three months in 2015, after that UAE’s F16s began bombing from Jordan. Further, recent reports show Toyota trucks captured from ISIL were originally sold to Jordan’s government. CNN Arabic reported Jordan is one of ISIL’s top oil buyers, and 4,500 Jordanians have managed to cross the borders to join ISIL under the king’s nose. Further, the king harbors and embraces the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIL’s ideological mother foundation. [6]
Myth: The king has outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood (MB); they are his enemies.
Fact: Jordan’s king has been in full cooperation with the MB. Historically, the MB stood up against the November 2012 revolution, crushing it while publically saying: “We won’t allow the king to fall”. The king’s Minister of Political Reform has said on TV: “The MB is a part of the regime”. The king refused Saudi’s, Egypt’s and UAE’s demands to shut down the MB. Although supposedly vigorously fighting the MB, the king publically licensed 2 new MB organizations in the last few weeks. Despite the king’s claims, MB still operates their TV station, daily paper and a $3 billion trust fund. Further, the king is allowing the MB to patriciate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. [7]
Myth: The king could be a part of the solution to the Palestinian’s cause by taking over the West Bank
Fact: The Palestinians have historically hated the king and his ancestors. Why? Because they have lied to them, treat them as outsiders (see above) and are using them as pawns while the king consolidates power and ravages the country for every dime he can. In fact, if one thinks about it, if the king can barely keep control over Jordan, what makes anyone in the world think he can control the West Bank? Make no mistake about it, the King of Jordan cannot (and will not) bring stability to the country and west bank. [8]
Myth: Israel depends on Jordan’s regime for its borders security
Fact: Israel depends on its own military power and puts little confidence on Jordan’s regime protecting its borders, this is why it is now building a huge wall across the borders and why it has deployed the “Lions of Jordan” brigade across the Jordan valley, our Western sources confirm the IDF has a contingency plan that includes deploying troops across the Jordanian borders if necessary. Further, our inside sources confirm; Israeli drones and F16s are in fact protecting Jordan’s Northern skies, close to Syria and also coordinating with the US Central Command to protect Jordan’s borders with Iraq.
Sources:
2- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/200941#.V2XhtLgrLIU
3-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAfX7y8q8UA
4-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9nEdtpCZg
5-http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16289
7-http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Jordans-king-and-the-Islamists-In-one-boat-332767
8-http://new.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Is-Jordan-the-Hashemite-occupied-Palestine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.