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The Muslim Brotherhood Isn't the Real Threat in Jordan

(Foreign Policy) Sean L. Yom and Wael al-Khatib - Jordan wants the U.S. to believe that Islamists, headlined by the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic Action Front (IAF) party, are the most dangerous opposition in the kingdom. Yet this is pure fiction. In truth, nearly two years of protests have exposed the more perilous threat to the Hashemite kingship to be a new generation of tribal opposition. Whereas urban opposition groups like the IAF draw strength from the Palestinian majority, concentrated in Amman, the most spirited Friday protests now erupt in the northern and southern tribal areas outside the capital. Ironically, Syria's worsening civil war has exerted a chilling effect. Many tribal protesters admit to voluntarily moderating their actions for fear of creating chaos on Jordanian soil.
2012-08-08 00:00:00
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