Jordan's Schizophrenia
Jordan has apparently been quite the little legal bunny regarding the seperation fence.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday sharply reprimanded Jordan for its active involvement in the upcoming hearings by the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the separation fence.
I've always been kind of torn on Jordan. Jordan really is the country that even right-of-center Middle East scholars love to love - it's moderate, it has a Palestinian problem just like Israel, the Hashemites speak the Queen's English. It's in a tough position - desperately wanting to be a moderate, Westernized state.
But the Hashemites have always been a little schizophrenic, and some times just down right evil. On one hand, the late King Hussein used to take secret, late night trips on his yacht along the Jordan River to secretly meet with Israeli officials. He even tried to make peace with Israel in 1984 during the Peres/Shamir government (imagine how different modern Middle East history would be if he had succeeded and received the West Bank in return!). On the other hand, King Hussein also oversaw the desecration of the graves of pious Jews buried on the Mount of Olives, and saw to it that their tombstones were turned into latrines for Jordanian soldiers and cobblestones for roads.
His grandson is the same way. Sometimes he seems moderate. Other times he pulls crap like that stunt with the fencing team last week or this ICJ thing.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday sharply reprimanded Jordan for its active involvement in the upcoming hearings by the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the separation fence.
I've always been kind of torn on Jordan. Jordan really is the country that even right-of-center Middle East scholars love to love - it's moderate, it has a Palestinian problem just like Israel, the Hashemites speak the Queen's English. It's in a tough position - desperately wanting to be a moderate, Westernized state.
But the Hashemites have always been a little schizophrenic, and some times just down right evil. On one hand, the late King Hussein used to take secret, late night trips on his yacht along the Jordan River to secretly meet with Israeli officials. He even tried to make peace with Israel in 1984 during the Peres/Shamir government (imagine how different modern Middle East history would be if he had succeeded and received the West Bank in return!). On the other hand, King Hussein also oversaw the desecration of the graves of pious Jews buried on the Mount of Olives, and saw to it that their tombstones were turned into latrines for Jordanian soldiers and cobblestones for roads.
His grandson is the same way. Sometimes he seems moderate. Other times he pulls crap like that stunt with the fencing team last week or this ICJ thing.
