Jordan must cut US Cancer out of its Foreign Policy: Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria

Jordan must cut US Cancer out of its Foreign Policy: Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria 

Joachim De Villiers and Salma Zribi

Modern Tokyo Times

Jordan needs to reevaluate its foreign policy with America because issues related to Israel, Palestine, Syria and the Muslim Brotherhood are all problematic. The current elites in the Obama administration are intent on imposing their “colonial mindsets” by dictating to others. Therefore, Jordan should break free from the patronizing and dangerous policies of Washington in order to focus on internal security issues.

Issues related to Israel, Palestine and regional dynamics are extremely complex but for Jordan and Lebanon it is clear that both these nations are deemed expendable by America. In Lebanon the delicate Christian-Muslim balance was altered by mainly Muslim Palestinian immigration. Similarly, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel didn’t worry about dragging their conflict to the people of Lebanon several decades ago.  This reality was a nail in the coffin for Lebanon during the civil war period and once more international intrigues against Syria is lighting fires in the land of the Cedars.

Indeed, for pro-Israelis and pro-Palestinian camps it is abundantly clear that Jordan and Lebanon didn’t even enter the equation. After all, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis inflamed Lebanon and further impacted on the falling Christian demographic reality. Similarly, the people of Jordan were forced to absorb enormous numbers of Palestinians but this fragile demographic reality threatens to engulf this nation.

Lee Jay Walker at Modern Tokyo Times says: “Jordan also faces a major Islamist problem therefore the intrigues of nations like America, France, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom are causing enormous shockwaves. Saudi Arabia is the odd one out when it applies to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt because the elites in Riyadh are worried about this organization. However, all the above nations have supported sectarian and Takfiri forces by stealth against the secular nation of Syria. Also, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, the other nations clearly favored the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist agenda in Egypt. Therefore, Jordan should be worried about the meddling of outside nations. After all,  the sizeable Palestinian community in Jordan; the growing menace of various sectarian and terrorist forces in Syria based on the funding and intrigues of outside nations; and the tentacles of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the region are all negative forces for the nation of Jordan.”

“John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, is not only a threat to the sovereignty of Syria based on his political shenanigans but he is also a threat to Jordan. Of course, Syria is bleeding badly because Gulf and NATO powers have tried to manipulate terrorists, sectarians, and mercenaries, in order to destroy independent Syria. However, now Kerry is also intent on sidelining Jordan and threatening the independence of this nation based on America’s desire to create “a just Washington peace,” in relation to the perennial Israel and Palestinian issue.”  

The fear in Jordan is that a peace deal between the representatives of Israel and Palestine will come at the cost of the sovereignty of Jordan.  King Abdullah should note that Jordan and Lebanon are expendable to the elites in Washington. Therefore, many Jordanians fear that more Palestinian refugees will undermine the sovereignty of their nation state. Equally troubling for Jordan is that the Palestinian “right to return” will be omitted by Washington.

Khaled Abu Toameh, The Gatestone Institute, says: “The Jordanians’ biggest fear is that Kerry is seeking to “resettle” Palestinian refugees in their country, effectively turning the kingdom into a Palestinian state. Palestinians constitute more than half of Jordan’s population.”

He also reports: “A group of retired Jordanian army generals issued a statement warning their government against accepting Kerry’s proposals. The retired generals expressed fear that the proposals were designed to “settle” Palestinians in Jordan.”

Lebanon also should be equally troubled because why should the land of the Cedars along with Jordan be expendable to the intrigues of Washington? The Levant and the Middle East is a very delicate mosaic. Yet clearly Jordan and Lebanon are paying the collective price of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Of course, the losers are also ordinary Palestinians because they have been uprooted and then treated like pawns by powerful players – and, tragically, the Palestinians have been betrayed by many of their own leaders based on corruption, cronyism and other factors.

Nasser Judeh, Foreign Minister of Jordan, also voiced major concerns about the policies of Washington. It is unclear if this was based on placating members of parliament or based on the need to notify Washington? After all, politics is often “a game of shadows.” Irrespective of the real motives, Judeh insisted that Jordan would refuse to become a Palestinian state by stealth.

If Judeh is sincere, then he should also focus on the destabilizing policies aimed at destroying secular Syria. Likewise, the government of Jordan should focus on keeping the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi virus at bay. Sadly, Jordan faces many internal dangers. Therefore, it is imperative on Jordan to focus on its own national sovereignty thereby this nation should remain neutral.

If Jordan wants to focus on the future then it is time to cut “the US foreign policy cancer” out of the equation. After all, several nations have been inflamed in North Africa and the Middle East based on the intrigues of major Gulf and NATO powers. This reality means that Jordan and Lebanon are expendable to the whims of other nations that have vested interests.  Similarly, the sectarian and terrorist fires in Iraq and Syria were lit by NATO and Gulf powers. Given this reality, then Washington will not think twice about ethnic tensions or Islamist factors engulfing Jordan, if elites in the Obama administration believe that Israel will escape.

However, the short-sighted elites in Washington have a rare knack of not knowing what they will unleash therefore Jordan needs to avoid the usual can of worms that follows on the coattails of America. In this sense, Jordan must align itself with independent entities and just like Egypt the political elites need to preserve the nation state from foreign intrigues.

Lee Jay Walker gave guidance to both main writers

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4156/jordan-kerry-proposal

http://www.almadenahnews.com/article/272842