[B-Chan]

I agree, Seccy. HM wouldn't go this far publicly unless he knew. What will be interesting in all this will be how the Hashemites deal with the House of Al Saud now. No love lost there, that's for sure! Heute Bagdad, Morgens Mekka?

If a United Hasemite Kingdom is proclaimed, it might assume a role similar to that of the pre-War Ottoman Empire: a guarantor of relative stabilty within a context of Arab unity. It will be interesting to see how their neighbors respond -- Israel, Iran, and Egypt especially. (Syria and the Saudis will be very careful not to rock the boat lest they find themselves similarly "liberated"; the Gulf small fry will ride into Bagdad with our boys; Turkey's response will hinge on the resolution of the Kurdish Question.)

Of course the big question mark is Arafat and the gang. Might the Israelis and the new Hashemite kingdom mark off a patch of land for the Pallies?

Time will tell. We are looking at a fundamental rearrangement of the Middle East map -- the most signficant change of affairs in the region since 1917. May God guide us as we sail into unknown waters!

[JSteff]

You wrote "It will be interesting to see how their neighbors respond -- Israel, Iran, and Egypt" and "Turkey's response"

Of those four countries 3 -Israel, Egypt, and Turkey are in a "joint agreement" with the U.S. for "Search and Rescue" purposes. They were all also mentioned in the article that anounced that alliance when talking of the building and use of a base in southern Jordan by the U.S.

I think this whole thing was long in the works. and well planned. I think there will be less surprises than might be thought and the "kurdish question" and others were addressed back then. Egypt will stay out of it all, only Iraq, and Syria, need be concerned and have questions.