All opinions posted. None too pathetic or contrived. Everyone gets their say.

"...even the wicked get worse than they deserve." - Willa Cather, One of Ours

Friday, July 02, 2004

Jordan ready to deploy troops in Iraq

Al Jazeera
Jordan has pledged to send troops to Iraq if the interim Iraqi government makes a request.
..."However, now there's an interim government and, we hope, a fully independent process very soon in Iraq. I presume, if the Iraqis ask us for help directly it will be very difficult for us to say no," King Abd Allah said.

"My message to the president and prime minister is: Tell us what you want, tell us how we can help and we have 110% support for this."

Washington welcomed the prospect of Jordanian troops in Iraq, but was at pains to portray any such move as a service to Iraq rather than the United States...
The Arabs have this 'strong horse' theory. The smart move is to always bet on the strongest horse. While the transition will be long and bloody - and it is possible that Iraq may have to experience a civil war before reaching political stability - it is now clear that the new Iraq will someday come into being.

King Abdallah has always been the most perceptive and forward looking of the Arab leaders. Abdullah can see who will win in the end, and he is not blinded by old ideologies that would prevent him from supporting a winner.

Iraq is a bigger and richer neighbor, and even his own people are sympathetic to helping the Iraqis form a stable society. By making this move before anyone else, Abdallah cements the image among Iraqis of Jordan as Iraq's closest friend, and confirms to the international community that Jordan is the Arab leader of choice to deal with.

Unless Al-Qaida takes over (impossible), or Baathists come back in power (nearly impossible), this is a no lose policy.

Even Al-Jazeera has a hard time making him look bad.

UPDATE: Yemen Willing to Send Troops to Iraq
...Yemen was discussing plans to send forces to Iraq.

But any deployment would have to have U.N. backing and the forces would have to be under the control of the world body...


Posted by: Zayphar / 7/02/2004 10:41:00 AM
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home