From Electronic Telegraph (London), Sunday, 7 January, 1999:

Assad and Saddam lie in wait, By Con Coughlin

Hussein's family squabbles over death decision

THERE hasn't been a crisis like it in Jordan since the dark days of Black September in 1970, when civil war between Palestinian militants and Jordan's indigenous Bedouin tribesmen nearly saw the Hashemite dynasty swept from power. One of the more ominous aspects of the 1970 hostilities was the decision by the Syrian government to mobilise an armoured division in support of the Palestinians.

The Syrians, of course, were more interested in taking advantage of the Jordanian government's weakness than fighting for the Palestinian cause. Their tanks, which actually crossed the Jordanian border, only turned back when the Israelis warned Damascus that they would scramble their air force. The tensions of that period resurfaced last week when Israel accused the Syrians of trying to foment trouble as Jordan braces itself for the post-Hussein era.

In 1970 the dynasty survived because King Hussein took firm action to crush the Palestinian revolt. The chances of the dynasty succeeding in the coming Millennium will depend on the wisdom of the ailing king's choice of his eldest son Abdullah as his successor. Certainly the 37-year-old Crown Prince will need to acquire the political acumen displayed by his father over the past 47 years if he is to survive.

The Ba'athist regimes of Syria and Iraq have never had much respect for the territorial integrity of Jordan, and any hint of weakness by Abdullah will be seized on by Assad and Iraq's Saddam Hussein. The Syrians, in particular, believe that their southern neighbour should by rights come under Damascus's jurisdiction.

Given that Assad has already succeeded in making Lebanon a Syrian client-state, it is by no means far-fetched to suggest that the Syrians harbour genuine ambitions for Jordan. There are estimated to be hundreds, if not thousands, of Syrian agents active in Jordan. Under orders from Damascus, they will be looking for any opportunity to persuade the Jordanian populace that the country's constitutional monarchy has outlived its usefulness.

But any attempt by the Syrians to capitalise on unrest in Jordan will not go unnoticed in Iraq. The rivalry between Syria and Iraq is so intense that the two Arab superpowers could even come to blows over Jordan.

The only state among Jordan's near neighbours that appears to be remotely interested in protecting the kingdom is Israel, with which King Hussein signed a peace accord in 1994. Jordan is a crucial buffer for Israel against the virulent anti-Zionism of Syria and Iraq, and its survival is essential if there is to be any chance of a lasting peaceful accommodation being reached in the region between Arabs and Jews.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 06, 1999

Answers

Quick, give Israel some more money. They didn't get enough from the Chinese when they sold our defense tech.

-- KoFE (Lookingforte@real.story), February 07, 1999.

Yes! Save the Jews!!

Who will run the White-House, media or Hollywood if anything happens to those nice Jews!!!

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous.com), February 07, 1999.

King Hussein just died.

I don't think anti-Jewish comments are appropriate, or relevant here.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 07, 1999.

Thanks, pshannon. As you know the original post was meant as a head's up about a likely power struggle--and possible US troop deployment--in the Middle East. To you others, here's my remark cut and pasted from another post you similarly besmirched.

"It's a great pity you had to spoil it by turning it into a showcase for bias. Don't waste your time arguing with and flaming me because I'm not coming back to this soiled post."

-- A saddened and disgusted Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 07, 1999.

Well said, pshannon... anti-semitic comments shouldn't be tolerated anywhere. S'alright, though... what goes around - you know the rest.

-- Inyer Face (Smack!@disgusted.com), February 07, 1999.

Aonymous99, Your racial illness shows in every post that you write.Views such as yours do not help. You are part of te problem. Try real hard to understand.

-- KoFE (Isdisgustedtoo@wake.up), February 07, 1999.

Thank you Old Git...appropriate Pshannon..and I thank you also.

-- Charon (Thatplace@downbelow.com), February 07, 1999.

"Aonymous99, Your racial illness shows in every post that you write.Views such as yours do not help. You are part of te problem. Try real hard to understand."

Hate does not help. I don't actively mean harm to anyone, but I am a big fan of segregation! I am only trying to avoid harm to my people (white Christian). Today, lots of nice white girls are raped by savages. Vitually nobody can walk at night in a black neighborhood (especially whites). Murders abound. Only in the US, which has allowed so many blacks & mexicans in has the incredible violent crime problem that we have. I don't care what somebody's skin color or religion is. But if they cause harm, only fools don't try to protect themselves.

Today, whites are 11% of the world's population. In 3-5 generations, at todays rate of change (per UN & US statistics), whites are virtually extinct.

I live well. Lots o' money, great area. I'll not see too many problems. Future generations will though, and I have a trouble with short-sided thinking. If decisions made today will affect my grand- kids, I want to speak out.

As for Jews, I can't really blame them, just fight them. If 2.5% of the US population (Jews) is smart enough to take control of the white- house, media & Hollywood, they must be pretty good. I'm really mad, though, at the lazy short-sided folks (white Christians) who let them destroy the nation's culture (from a single racist culture to a "multi-cultural" violent 3rd-world, especially in the cities).

I don't claim Christians are perfect (quite the contrary, per above), but history shows that Jews have been kicked-out of every civilized nation they have been in. In my opinion, there is a reason for this - they take-over. Blacks & Mexicans are the US problem. Jews are the reason.

In the future, I will stay exclusively on-topic (Y2K).

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous.com), February 07, 1999.

A.99

You obviously have no idea what's REALLY going on. You've accepted the most destructive possible conditioning there is, and you believe it is the problem rather than a symptom. Attitudes such as yours are among what have led the world down its path to ecological and cultural annihilation for thousands of years. Peoples of "darker" persuasions are not savages except in the context that you create for them. The Jews have never been kicked out anyplace because they take over, but rather because they live differently than their "hosts," given the contexts in which they are allowed to live.

The kind of racial hatred that you espouse has become a tool of the forces that divide and conquer society. Keep people hating each other for the stereotypical differences between them rather than getting together and finding strength in their similarities, and you can create a society that is pliable, fearful and easily manipulated. The forces that are doing this are not one of racial or religious background, but rather money-centered. Jews who are a part of the money-centered elite played as much a part in the Holocaust (for example) as anyone else did.

You are being duped and used as a tool by this money-centered elite, and you are suffering for it by being manipulated into being filled with hatred so that you will go along with the game.

Sad, really...

(BTW - I'm white (non-christian) and I live on the edge of a black neighborhood on one side, and hispanic on another side, and have lived in or near other similar neighborhoods in other parts of the city and other cities. Walked at night in these neighborhoods plenty of times and never had a problem or threat of a problem, neither has anybody I've ever known. Most of the "crime" you describe is committed among these people towards themselves. And it's done so, again, because of the context in which they are allowed to live. Part of the same game. Keep them divided and they won't find their strength. Portray it in the media as being a threat to the "outside" and you keep the game going. Divide and conquer)

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 07, 1999.

pshannon - you don't know what's REALLY going on either. But you're getting warmer!

-- . (god@heaven.org), February 07, 1999.

kid's kid's.... Its bad enugh with y2k we don't need that. I don't like jews but not because they jews but because they are so full of selfpitty and allways so fast in pointing fingers at others. Everytime they suppres the palistine people or attack they'r neighbors they find something a big scandal from ww2. or so. everytime someone says something agains jews he is a rasist a antisemetic you name it.... Hey you can say to a christian your religion stinks ...fine he will be pissed of and thats it this type of discusions are even aired on tv and radio: say it to a moslem ...fine same as all other religions in the world that encurage discussions ... say it to a jew and you are antisemetic and that is against the law....see how they run the goverment :-) an article about your antisemetism will run in all mayor newspapers ... thats why they run the newspaper. Like I said.... I don't mind the people... but I do mind the behavior. Now call it racism if you want.. thats fine with me but go all the way and call anyone that does not agree with someone elses behavior or believes also a racist...

And don't you guy's worry about money sent to Israel.... 90% of all synagoges do that anyway and finance the murder of inecent arabs. The rest is paid for with our taxes..

that is as it is.

-- I know it (jews@arewimps.com), February 07, 1999.