Jordan Times has an article of Pravda caliber in its fawning praise for the King, and the previous monarch as well. By Hasan Abu Nimah:His Majesty King Abdullah II is in his 19th year of glorious reign; distinguished years that have witnessed exemplary leadership abilities, skillful political expertise, widely recognised wisdom and seasoned diplomatic prowess resulting in momentous accomplishments in the midst of the most troubling times and escalating crises.Besides the hilariously over the top prose, there are two interesting omissions in the brief history of King Hussein's reign.
Nineteen years ago this month, Jordan commemorated a most significant milestone in its history. On February 7, 1999, His Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal departed this world, leaving behind an eminent legacy and monumental achievements.
The late monarch ascended the throne at the young age of 17 following the abdication of his father King Talal in 1952. At that time, Jordan was a nascent country having only won its independence six years earlier. It was still recovering from the first Arab — Israeli war, in which the Jordanian army played a significant role in saving the West Bank and East Jerusalem from the same fate that befell 78 per cent of the historical land of Palestine that was seized by the Zionist occupiers in that disastrous war.
During his 47-year reign in a highly turbulent region that scarcely witnessed peace or stability, the protection of the country was safeguarded through King Hussein’s unique leadership; steering the ship in a perpetual storm to the shores of safety. It was nothing short of miraculous that Jordan managed to endure the heavy impact of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) and the influx of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees into Jordan; the Suez war; the toppling of the Hashemite regime in Iraq when Jordan and Iraq had just formed a unity between them; the rabid air war directed against Jordan from Arab countries which were inciting against stable traditional monarchies in favour of military coups; the 1967 war and the loss of the West Bank and Jerusalem with huge swathes of Egyptian and Syrian territories; the 1970 internal war in Jordan whereby a vicious conspiracy was targeting the regime; the Gulf war of 1980 between Iraq and Iran; and the second Gulf war following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991.
King Hussein’s diplomacy was not only focused on Jordanian issues which would have been manageable. Jordan was immensely affected by all regional troubles being situated at the epicentre of each and every Middle Eastern crisis, and as such all issues landed on the King’s doorstep.
When King Abdullah ascended the throne on that historic day for Jordan, he immediately took up where his departing father left off, thus continuing the honourable legacy.
The transfer of authority, smooth and orderly as it was, even during a time of national mourning for the loss of a beloved grand national symbol and a caring father figure, was perfectly compatible with the line of succession.
At the age of 38 King Abdullah stepped in with unshakeable confidence, clear vision, unwavering resolve and boundless energy for tackling the tasks ahead in an era equally unstable and volatile as during the reign of his late father.
One is that it described the violent Palestinian uprising in 1970 as a "vicious conspiracy" without mentioning that the main instigator was the PLO - and that Jordanian forces killed thousands of Palestinians during the Black September uprising.
And the other is that the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan isn't mentioned.
Jordan is too embarrassed to admit that it once considered Palestinians to be mortal enemies, and that it ever made peace with Israel.