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Monarch in the Middle

(Atlantic) Jeffrey Goldberg - Israel, in some ways, is Jordan's most important ally. As the guarantor of quiet on Israel's eastern front, and as the defender of the peace treaty that King Hussein forged with Yitzhak Rabin in 1994, King Abdullah II's Jordan is essential to the Israelis. Jordan and Israel are also working together to prevent the chaos of Syria from spilling into their countries. Several sources in Amman and Tel Aviv told me that Israeli drones are monitoring the Jordan-Syria border on Jordan's behalf, and that military and intelligence officials from the two countries are in constant contact, planning for post-Bashar al-Assad chaos. Even as Abdullah envisions ceding more of his power, he draws one red line: "I don't want a government to come in and say, 'We repudiate the peace treaty with Israel.'" He is in regular communication with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He said his relationship with Netanyahu is "very strong. Our discussions have really improved." Though he acknowledges the role Netanyahu plays in maintaining Jordanian stability, he is not optimistic about Israel's future. King Abdullah is known as an advocate of two states for two peoples, but said, "It could be too late already for the two-state solution....Part of me is worried that is already past us." The king is certain that the Muslim Brotherhood wants to see him gone. The Jordanian General Intelligence Department (GID) has told him that the Brotherhood high command in Cairo is actively fomenting unrest in Jordan. The GID claims to have intercepted communications from Brotherhood leaders in Egypt to their Jordanian affiliates, encouraging them to boycott elections and destabilize the country. Abdullah told me that "behind closed doors, the Muslim Brotherhood here wants to overthrow" the government. The Brotherhood is run by "wolves in sheep's clothing" and wants to impose its retrograde vision of society and its anti-Western politics on the Muslim Middle East. This, he said, is "our major fight" - to prevent the Muslim Brothers from conniving their way into power across the region.
2013-03-19 00:00:00
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