VISITING Jordan lately, I felt proud and pleasantly surprised. The capital, Amman, which I visited last in 1981, is now a well developed metropolitan city. Its brand-new, modern and large airport is a model of good engineering and administration. The road, transportation and communication networks are world-class. Hotels, restaurants, malls, historic Romanian and Arab hallmarks and tourism services are as good as you may get in well-developed regional tourist destinations like Turkey, Tunis and Morocco. I haven't been to the Dead Sea and Petra, but I heard from my travel partner, Professor Shakeel Habeeb, dean of Prince Sultan College of Business, that the services there were as good, if not better, than the rest of the country. "The economy has been widely diversified, especially toward science and technology, education and medical services," he says adding that "Our college has benefited from close collaboration with leading Jordanian colleges and top educators." I remembered my last visit to Jordan as I reviewed its rising status in Middle East politics. Lately, it was invited to Astana, Kazakhstan, to attend Syrian Peace Talks, along with Russia, US, Turkey and Iran. I felt this was a recognition of its valuable participation in the international campaign against Daesh (the so-called IS). Recently, Jordan was a victim of terrorist attacks. Considering its proximity to the war zones in Syria and Iraq, as well as hosting millions of Iraqis, Syrians and Palestinian refugees, it did very well balancing its act, securing the country and fending off terror. King Abdullah II's visit, last month, to Washington, as the first Arab leader to meet with President Trump, was a good measure of Jordan's status. The well-spoken king has managed to change the new administration stand toward moving US embassy to Jerusalem. He also helped convey the Arab position regarding the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as, the Israeli settlement expansion. On the war on Daesh and Iranian intervention in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the Jordanian monarch was in agreement with the new US policies. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has always faced challenges. Life treated its leaders at many stages of its existence with hard trials and difficult tests. Fortunately, it has always been blessed with astute and wise rulers. They did have their share of mistakes (like siding with Saddam during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, 1990), but have generally managed to play their cards well. Just imagine being a small nation — economically-challenged and sandwiched in a rough neighborhood, forever going through a power game of arch enemies, like Israel, Egypt, Syria and Iraq! Add to this a divide population of tribal Jordanians, with affinity toward Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq, and Palestinians whose roots are in occupied lands with long history of struggle! Named after the Jordan River, where Jesus is said to have been baptized, the Emirate of Transjordan is a British creation, cut off Palestine and Syria, in 1921, with a population of 200,000 (9,500,000 in 2015). It was named The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946. Its Hashemite family who came from Hejaz (now part of Saudi Arabia) became rulers of the new country. Their cousins ruled Iraq and Syria, but didn't last as much. Revolutions had ended their dynasties — violently in the case of Iraq. Wisdom and good governance helped the Jordanian royal family to overstay their enemies. In a century, there were four generations of the Hashemite dynasty, starting with King Abdullah, (assassinated in Jerusalem, 1949), then his son King Talal, and grand son, King Hussein. and now King Abdullah II. All were well-educated, trained and prepared for their posts. They managed to navigate the Middle East's rough waters rather well, except for the loss of the Western Bank and Jerusalem in the 1967 War, they kept their country united, secured and well-developed. King Abdullah II was the first Arab leader to recognize the Iranian project in the Middle East. In a Washington Post interview, 2004, he announced that Iran is progressing on its historical project to build a Shiite crescent to connect with the Mediterranean via Iraq and Syria. This includes violent ethnic cleansing in Sunni areas and settlement of Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Afghani Shiite population. Jordan was also among the first countries to join the international collation against Daesh, as well the Arab Coalition in Yemen, and Islamic Alliance Against Terrorism. It has allows sided with its Arab and Muslim governments in every decision taken to protect their security by Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League, United Nations, Security Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Jordanian Kingdom, its leadership and people have proven their good standing in International, Muslim and Arab arenas. The Gulf needs to show them more appreciation and give them much needed support. How about an invitation to join GCC, like Yemen? Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
