by Natasha Tynes | Nov 18, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
Zarqawi’s latest speech — in which he threatened to kill His Majesty King Abdallah — is a desperate attempt by a low-life thug who has realized his battle to win the hearts and minds of Arab youth is miserably failing!
I think the reason he has made these threats is simply because he was taken aback by the reaction of the Jordanian people, who took to the streets condemning the attacks and shouting loud and clear "Zarqawi, burn in hell". It is also worth noting that Zarqawi did not expect Jordanians to fully unite behind His Majesty following the attacks. With this statement Zarqawi has clearly revealed his sense of desperation. What a pathetic loser! Here is an article about this latest audiotape. Also here is Aljazeera’s article in Arabic.
UPDATE: Jordanian blogger Oleander has a good post about Al-Qaeda desperation.
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 18, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
According to the Economist magazine, Jordan ranks 8 out of 20 in predictions of where and how democracy will spread in the Middle East and Africa next year. Jordan scored 4.45 out of 10. I wonder if the Economist took into consideration Jordan’s upcoming national agenda when it arrived at that score. I think, for Jordan, this is not that bad. I mean, let’s look at the bright side, there are only six Arab countries in front of us. Here is one quote of interest:
And the Americans will promote a trio of more or less benevolent monarchies — Morocco, Jordan and Bahrain — as exemplars of their democracy campaign.
Source: [Mail and Guardian online]
According to AFP, the Ecomonist’s "Index of Political Freedom" ranked 20 countries on 15 indicators of political and civil liberties for its annual preview of the year ahead. Here is the full list:
1) Israel: 8.20 2) Lebanon: 6.55 3) Morocco: 5.20 4) Iraq: 5.05 4) Palestine: 5.05
6) Kuwait: 4.90 7) Tunisia: 4.60 8) Jordan: 4.45 8) Qatar: 4.45 10) Egypt: 4.30
10) Sudan: 4.30 10) Yemen: 4.30 13) Algeria: 4.15 14) Oman: 4.00
15) Bahrain: 3.85 15) Iran: 3.85 17) UAE: 3.70 18) Saudi Arabia: 2.80 18) Syria: 2.80 20) Libya: 2.05
UPDATE: Here is the Lebanese perspective from Beirut Beltway.
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 18, 2005 | Political mayhem
Over 60 Iraqis were butchered today. This horrible attack is the latest in a series of massacres committed by, you guessed it: the insurgents in Iraq. After reading this, the first thought that came to mind was how will Jordanians react to this now.
It is no secret that a number of Jordanians cheered the evil doings of the insurgents, seeing it as a form of "legitimate resistance." Now that Jordan has been hit by what seems to be Iraqi insurgents from Falluja, will Jordanians — including the Jordanian media — publicly denounce the doings of the "resistance" and support ongoing efforts to stabilize Iraq.
Will the Jordanian public and media now support the democratic steps taking place in Iraq, including elections? Do Jordanians realize now that stability in Iraq means stability at home? Let’s wait and see.
