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Wednesday, May 03, 2023

There Goes Jordan Again -- Celebrating Its Terrorists As Heroes (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

It was recently reported that a Jordanian member of Parliament was arrested by Israel on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold while going through the Allenby Crossing.


The Jordanian response was predictable:

Why predictable?

On March 13, 1997, a Jordanian soldier opened fire on a large group of schoolgirls from Israel while on a school trip on the Island of Peace in Naharayim, killing seven of them. Jordan's King Hussein's reaction was extraordinary: he personally paid condolence calls to the families who lost their daughters:

Two fathers, an Arab king and an Israeli factory worker met yesterday in a house of grief to mourn the death of a 13-year-old daughter.

King Hussein of Jordan knelt at the feet of Yisrael Fatihi, who sat on floor cushions in the custom of Jewish mourning, and told him, "Your loss is my loss, my personal loss."

But not all Jordanians shared the king's sympathy.

Although the soldier, Ahmed Daqamseh, was sentenced to 20 years, on February 14, 2011, Jordan's justice minister Hussein Mjalli joined dozens of protesters in demanding the murderer be released early.

Daqamseh was not released early, but when he was released in 2017, members of the Jordanian Parliament made no secret about how they felt:

o  "On the occasion of Daqamseh's release, let me place his picture over my head, because this hero has returned to his home safe and sound.

o  "This is a Jordanian day of celebration. We are very happy at (Daqamseh's) release, which is overdue.

o  "We congratulate the country upon the return of the hero Ahmad Daqamseh. We never wanted him to remain in prison for such a long time, away from his country.

Based on this, the Jordanian support for Ahlam Tamimi -- the self-confessed mastermind behind the Sbarro Massacre -- is not surprising, nor is the refusal of Jordan to abide by its extradition treaty with the US.

And Jordanians have attacked -- and killed -- Americans as well as Israelis.

In 2015, a Jordanian policeman opened fire on Americans:

A policeman has opened fire at a police training centre in Jordan, killing two Americans, a South African and two Jordanians, officials say.

The Jordanian embassy in Washington said the Jordanian assailant also wounded two Americans and two Jordanians, before being shot dead.

There were no statements of solidarity this time by the Jordanian parliament and the assumption was that the killings were in solidarity with terrorist groups in the Middle East, especially since the attack fell on the 10th anniversary of bombing attacks by al-Qaeda on three hotels in Amman which killed more than 50 people.

But just one year later, on November 4, 2016, a Jordanian soldier, M'aarek Abu Tayeh, attacked and killed 3 American soldiers, Staff Sgt. Matthew Lewellen, Staff Sgt. Kevin McEnroe and Staff Sgt. James Moriarty as they were entering a Jordanian military base. Jordanians did not celebrate the killing, but they did do everything to cover up what actually happened.

There was an ongoing investigation. It raised the possibility that more than one Jordanian was involved. Other Jordanian soldiers in the area did nothing to aid the Americans. More than that, they fired warning shots at a US truck that was behind the vehicles carrying the Green Berets, preventing it from assisting the Green Berets.

On March 6, Jordanian ambassador Dina Kawar sent a letter to Representative Ted Poe of Texas, claiming that a joint US-Jordanian investigation concluded that there was an "absence of premeditated intentions by M'aarek Abu Tayeh." Instead, the Jordanians accused the American soldiers both of failing to stop at the gate but also of negligently discharging their weapons, which caused the security guard to panic and open fire.

One of the parents, Mr. McEnroe responded to Jordan's attempt to sweep the tragedy under the carpet:
Over four months have passed since our boys were murdered. None of our families has heard any apology, condolences or explanation from the Jordanians other than these false narratives. In my mind, Jordan is at the very least guilty of complicity in the murder of three American brave servicemen.
 
We are told that Jordan is an important ally in the war on terror -- a war which I support -- but I encourage our president and our administration to take a hard look at our relationship with an ally who would so callously disrespect the sacrifice made by our boys. [emphasis added]
The Jordanian offered one lie after another to avoid responsibility:
o First the Jordanian government claimed that the US soldiers had failed to stop at the gate
o When a video disproved that, the Jordanians claimed that there had been an “accidental discharge” by one of the soldiers.
o When that was disproven, the Jordanians claimed there had been a loud noise caused the Jordanian to react

It was not until June 1, 2017, that the Jordanians officially charged Abu Tayeh with murder. He was sentenced to life for murder but will qualify for parole in 20 years -- which would match the sentence Ahmed Daqamseh served for killing the Israeli schoolchildren, before being released to a hero's welcome.

Meanwhile, Israel has extended the detention of the Jordanian minister who was caught smuggling weapons. This incident on its own has troubling implications. Joe Truzman at FDD noted:

The Jordanian parliament has long been a stage for the worst kind of anti-Israel vitriol. Now, it appears, one of its members has shifted from speech to action. This would constitute a major breach of both the word and the spirit of the almost three-decade-old peace treaty between Jordan and Israel. Amman should make amends, and publicly, fast.
And recently, there was more troubling news, that Jordan and Iran are planning to meet in order to improve relations between the 2 countries. This latest diplomatic offensive follows the improving relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

On the one hand, this would seem to be a blow to US influence in the Middle East. On the other hand, one of Obama's goals was to bolster Iran's role as a policeman in the region.

The growing rapport between Tehran and various Arab countries marks a departure from the trend of increasing Arab-Israeli normalization fostered by the 2020 Abraham Accords. Despite being one of the first Arab countries to establish relations with Israel nearly 30 years ago, Jordan has recently displayed a more hostile face. Its official rhetoric about Israel has grown increasingly negative, if not vitriolic, in both public forums and Jordan’s government-sponsored media.
So on the one hand, Jordan -- which is touted as a major ally of the US in the war against terrorism -- is edging closer to Iran. On the other hand, one may wonder how concerned the Biden administration really is at the prospect of furthering Obama's goal in readjusting the political landscape of the Middle East. 


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