I take note of nations that act sensibly. I refer to the nation that assesses the circumstances in which it finds itself and makes the most of it. It does this by choosing to live in peace with its neighbours.
Especially, when one of such neighbours is Israel that forever waits for an invitation to fight, it makes sense to choose to dwell in peace. Israel isn’t my focus here. Jordan is. It’s in the Middle East, surrounded by Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west, the Red Sea in the south-west, and Saudi Arabia to the east and south. When a nation has that many neighbours , it may have too many of them to fight if it’s combative.
Jordan is the ninth nation in the weeks-long series in which I note the role different nations play in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Jordan’s geographical location makes it important to Christians, Jews and Muslims. That’s enough to make it susceptible to volatility if its leadership hasn’t been sensible. An ally of the United States of America, Jordan’s decision not to be confrontational, living in peace with Israel and other neighbours is important for two reasons. One, there’re Palestinians and radical Islamist groups in Jordan and beyond who want the government to be militant against their traditional enemies.
Two, last week, I noted on this page that the nation in the Middle East which chooses to be at war with Israel has chosen to forgo peace.
So, the decision to be at peace or at war depends more on the concerned nation, and less on Israel which has configured itself to hit hard on any nation that chooses harass it. Jordan has had rest having signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994; it’s the only other nation in the Middle East to have done so after Egypt. Jordan’s action here is an indication of how the mind of its leadership works. This too is important because in this same region some other nations think in a different way, and this has led them into paths that ensure they are never at rest internally or externally. When it’s considered that most nations in the Middle East forever live in apprehension of internal and external threats, choices that Jordan’s leadership has made become sensible.
The territory known as Jordan was once under the Ottoman Empire. When that empire collapsed in 1918, Jordan came under British and French supervisions. The territory was once inhabited by tribes that had fought during the World War 1 to set themselves free from Ottoman rule. Its population at that time was largely made up of tribes which had taken part in the revolt. Now, Jordan has a population of about 9.5 million.
Of this number, Sunni Muslims are 92 per cent. There’s a Christian minority.
There are also descendants of Palestinian refugees from Israel and the West Bank. With this diversity, I insist that there’s something to the leadership in Jordan which could go in other directions but chooses to move in a specific direction with respect to its foreign relations.
The leadership assesses all possibilities but selects where it presently stands in its relations with neighbours. This is a job for the leadership, not the masses. It harbours elements that can make it the enemy of everyone, as it is the case of Lebanon. But it chooses to be different, and over the years, it gets tagged as the Middle East’s safest country. This doesn’t happen because Jordanians are unassailable desert warriors. Rather, it’s because Jordan’s leadership selects what’s best for it and its people. Enlightened self-interest.
Nevertheless, the country hasn’t escaped the attention of the more militant elements in the region. Back in 2005, there were suicide bomb attacks on hotels in the capital, Amman. Some Islamic militants based in Iraq had claimed responsibility. Just as Jordan hasn’t been left alone to enjoy the peace it deserves, so also the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East hasn’t allowed it to have rest. When the battle in Syria began, thousands of Syrian refugees crossed the border. After Jordan’s soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing by militants from Syrian territory not long ago, Amman closed its borders with Syria and Iraq. Generally, militants across the region leave Amman watching every occurrence beyond its borders with apprehension, while it seeks to play a part. This is in an effort to influence outcomes of the conflicts in a way that will benefit Jordan. Every sensible nation does the same.
This nation has an economy that’s diversified. There’re trade and finance, transport and communications, public utilities, as well as construction, mining and manufacturing. In terms of mineral resources, it’s significant that Jordan has no crude oil. Agricultural produce and phosphate are all that it can boast of. But it still does well for itself in a region where crude oil wealth is a trademark. The nation has skilled workers, the highest in this region, in ICT and industry; its modern educational system accounts for this. The skilled workforce pulls in foreign investment, and Jordan even exports its skilled hands to other parts of the region. Jordan equally thrives on services and tourism, its territory being rich in historic sites and monuments that diverse religions fancy. The nation has a health service that stands out in the region. This too is important to note.
It is, because I’m of the view that a nation needs to stand out in something positive. It may be in science, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, innovation, service, military, shipping, banking etc. When a nation doesn’t deliberately choose an aspect of human endeavour where it wants to make itself felt on the international stage, I take it that its leadership doesn’t have a sense of purpose. Such a nation lives from one day to the other without vision or mission – its attention being devoted to mundane issues, its citizens being driven by primordial sentiments. In the event, both the leadership and the citizens muddle through.
Jordan doesn’t belong to this category. It excels in something, just as nations such as Germany, the United Kingdom and China do. Not long ago, a German diplomat was asked what people in other nations talked to him most about his country. Football. Cars. Those were his answers. I agree. I admire the beauty, organisation, tactical approach and the high level of discipline of Germany’s football teams, not only its national team but the football teams in the German Budesliga as well.
I admire German-made cars too. I always nod my head with admiration at the simplicity, efficiency and ruggedness of German cars. This is where Germany stands out. Nations such as Germany have children.
Jordan is one of them. Jordan exhibits good sense in all it does. The extent to which it involves itself in conflicts across its borders shows this. It had been fighting all manner of battles along with the rest of the Arab world before it signed a peace accord with Israel. Since then, it got involved in conflicts in other nations only in 2014 and 2015. It cooperates with Israel, Saudi Arabia and most other moderate states in the region. Jordan’s relatively better condition shows the benefits.
However, its 2014 and 2015 involvements in conflicts were part of joint air strikes against militants in Iraq and in Yemen. But it’s been in Syria too. As for Syria and Iraq, Jordan is involved because of ISIS. Most nations that are in Syria and Iraq are there because of ISIS, except for western nations that additionally shadow-box Russia and Iran. Of course, ISIS and its ideology are a threat to western civilisation. Most countries in the Middle East have gone western.
A majority of their leaderships are westerners in orientation and lifestyle; a reason ISIS detests them and plans to take over authority in the region. Jordan is one of the targets of ISIS. Syria and Iraq are its launching pads, so Jordan joins other Middle East nations to engage the movement in battles. When it’s noted that Jordan, alongside Saudi Arabia, is also in Yemen where Shia Iran is active, it becomes clearer that Iran’s attempt to be dominant in this region has automatically dragged Sunni Jordan into the Middle East’s power game.
This too is a sensible decision.
Punch
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