Beware Your Friends
Since Israel’s cold peace began with a treaty with Jordan in 1994, there are reasons to believe the Hashemite Kingdom’s leader, Abdullah, is not quite as pro-Western as we’ve been led to believe. I have friends who tout the treaty with Jordan, and friends who warn that Jordan is no friend of Israel.
Now comes word the Jordanians are conducting war games…against the Jewish state. According to the Jerusalem Post:
“The Jordanian army conducted a military exercise simulating battle with Israel, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
“The exercise’s name is ‘Swords of Karama,’ which is reportedly named after Israel’s 1968 operation against Fatah, which took place near the village Karama. At the time, Jordan fought alongside Fatah. Jordanian news sources claimed that the exercise simulated a defensive maneuver in which the country is ‘invaded.’
“The maneuvers were attended by King Abdullah, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, and several other senior Jordanian officials. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces Maj.-Gen. Yousef Huneiti said that the exercise is to prepare so that they may ‘strike with an iron hand against anyone from the extremist and terrorist gangs who dares to harm the homeland’s security,’ according to MEMRI.
Jordanian website Rumonline claimed that ‘in light of deterioration of relations with the occupying state [Israel] and the increasingly harsh tone of [Israel’s] statements vis-à-vis Jordan… It seems that we will be waging a ‘cool battle’ with the occupier in the near future.’”
Well, well, well. So the Jordanians have now turned menacing. Let’s look at a couple of reasons they should re-think any future war with Israel:
•The devastation of the Six Day War. Israel’s Levi Eshkol virtually begged King Hussein to stay out of the conflict in June of 1967, but the latter had signed a pact with the devilish Nassar of Egypt and he felt compelled to enter the war. That resulted in Israel smashing the Jordanian League in Jerusalem and taking the whole of the Jordan Valley west of the river. Now, even amid political trouble in Israel, the Israelis are making noise about annexing the Jordan Valley; this has prompted warnings from Jordan not to do so. Notice that they still view Israel as “occupiers.” Add to this troubling statements from King Abdullah since taking over for his father, and one can see that while he might not be as radical as a typical Middle Eastern strongman, he is still no friend.
Israel is prepared for any war with Jordan and I have no doubt it would be victorious as it was in ’67.
•King Hussein knew that Israel had kept him alive at various points during his reign, when terrorists—mostly the PLO—had targeted him for assassination. Israeli intelligence many times saved the King.
He repaid these “helps” by warning the Israelis in early 1973 that the Arab League meant to go to war with Israel. His helicopter landed in the southern desert one night, and he met with Israeli generals. Sadly, they didn’t take his warning seriously enough and the resulting Yom Kippur War traumatized Israel for years.
Prophetically, I find it interesting that Jordan will be part of the coalition that moves against Israel in the last days…and that’s from a “friend”! Imagine what more malevolent countries will have planned!
One hopes that Jordan isn’t dumb enough to actually launch a war with Israel in the current climate. Rather than maintain his image as an urbane, modern leader, Abdullah is behaving like a punk and a thug.
God is watching.