Jordan was and as long as the royal family rule Jordan will be an ally to the west. The last king of Jordan was married to an american arab woman. Their (royal) culture is very western.

Remember the the king' s wife is Palestinian, and most probably done in order to pasify the majority of the population who are Palestinian.

Jordanian soldiers work very closely with us on the border, for the vast majority of the time. Remember Syria, who had a long internal war with the Muslim brotherhood, and they too struck hard against them. Egypt had/has the same problem.

As for the offer for a truce. I find it very hard that people took that seriously. Remember this type of offer is "valid" according to their religious teachings, in order to gain the upper hand..."hudna" comes to mind.


I would like to add, that AQ do not want an ally they want to get rid of the royal family, as they do in SA and any other regime that is not ...Islamic extreme.

Try this link http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/hashemites.html
Look at the family tree.

I think it would be very difficult to miscalculate what the King of Jordans reaction would be. He has a history (or at least his father did). I think they figured he'd be dead.

Hardly! Good points, danjam. Glad to have you here.

Well this raises an interesting question, same one we discussed re: Saudi Arabia. Wasn't Jordan already our friend? I suspect the answer is complicated and dependent on how you define "Jordan."

I've said it before but I'll note it again. It was not a "truce" offer. It was a demand for unconditional surrender. "We will not attack you if you remove all your troops from Muslim countries and stop interfering in the affairs of Muslims" is functionally no different from "We will attack you unless you remove all your troops from Muslim countries and stop interfering in the affairs of Muslims."

This is not limited to Iraq. It is not limited to Afghanistan. It is not limited to anti-terrorism efforts. It is categorical.

And for those thinking "fuck 'em, let's just pull up the stakes and leave them in their medieval cesspool," it isn't even limited to the dar al-islam. France's attempts to enforce secularism by banning the hijab is just as much an "interference in the affairs of Muslims" as French SOF searching for al-Qa'ida along the Afghan-Pak border from their FOB in Spin Boldak. The most virulent anti-British Muslim activism comes not in former British colonies in the Muslim world, but in Muslim enclaves in Britain itself. And there are parts of Amsterdam where non-Muslims, including the Dutch police, fear to tread.

So that's where they are.

Jordanian Queen Joins Protest Against Terrorism

"Queen Rania joined at least 20,000 Jordanians in a street protest Thursday against a failed plot by an al-Qaida-linked terror cell to launch attacks in the capital, Amman, that officials say would have killed tens of thousands.

The queen, wearing a white and orange shirt and blue jeans, held hands with students during the two mile march that ended at the parliament building.

The protest was the largest in recent history and attracted tribal leaders, businessmen, political activists, Muslim and Christian clerics and students from across the kingdom. . ."

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2857076