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Tuesday at a news conference in Kosovo’s capital city Priština, King Abdullah of Jordan declared the planet was in the midst of a Third World War.

On a dusty hill in the suburbs of Amman, the capital of Jordan, I visited the late King Hussein's magnificent automobile collection, opened to the public as a museum. Amid rows of gleaming motorcycles, I passed a brightly-coloured Japanese racer and a low-riding American chopper, and my eyes fell on one dark model that stood behind them. This, a placard told me, was a Brough Superior, British-made and once common in Jordan as a motorcycle used for military purposes. Jordan is an island of peace and stability in a sea of turmoil. There is almost nowhere in the region that...

Jordan’s King Abdullah II rejected on Sunday the notion that his country was an “alternative homeland” for Palestinian Arabs, the state news agency Petra reports. “Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine and nothing but that, not the in the past or the future,” King Abdullah was quoted as having said in a meeting with the Prime Minister, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Lower House. “We know how this issue has been surfacing since 15 years, or even more, where things start in the spring by the same group, who tense the Jordanian society, and...

Jordanian tribal figures have issued a petition urging King Abdullah to end his Palestinian wife's role in politics, in a new challenge to the monarch grappling with fallout from uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Evoking comparisons with the wives of Tunisia's former strongman Zine al Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, the signatories attacked Queen Rania's Palestinian origin and accused her of using state funds to promote her image abroad without concern for the hardship of ordinary Jordanians. The 36 figures are drawn from conservative East Bank tribes who form the backbone of the Hashemite monarchy's support --...

The teaching moment began the day we toppled Saddam from power. We did not notice. We were busy congratulating ourselves for liberating Iraq. But the Arab, Sunni Muslim world was not celebrating. Their view was that our invasion of the Sunni heartland unshackled the beast of Shia Islam which had been chained for a “thousand years.” Since then, all of Iraq’s Sunni neighbors have struggled to curtail Shia power in Iraq, and its growing influence throughout the region. Consequently, some Sunni regimes which have been occasionally cooperative with us in the Middle East now see us as unwitting friends of...

Unilateral measures taken by Israel main obstacle for peace, King Abdullah tells Rice during Amman meeting; stresses importance of increasing America's role in process Roee Nahmias and AP Published: 03.30.08, 23:24 / Israel News US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to Amman from Jerusalem on Sunday to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah. The king warned that failure to achieve progress toward (Israeli-Palestinian) peace would ''threaten the region's future'', according to a statement from his palace. During his meeting with Rice Abdullah accused Israel of taking unilateral measures, particularly regarding the expansion of the West Bank settlements. According to the...

Analysis: Did Naveh cross the Jordanian 'red line'? Orly Halpern, THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 23, 2006 The Jordanian political and intellectual elites are outraged. Why? Because OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh said Jordanians of Palestinian descent will want to overthrow their monarchy and that there are enough of them to do it. There are three problems here from the Jordanian perspective. The first is that to even hint that the Hashemite King Abdullah II will be removed forcibly from his seat is to question the king himself. And to question the king is beyond unacceptable. It borders on profanity....

Well, boys and girls, it seems that in recent weeks, there’s been some stirring in that Middle East land known as Jordan. While our attention has been focused primarily on Iraq and Afganistan, and casting a wary eye at Syria and Iran, and looking back over our shoulder at the developments in North Korea, Jordan has been making some symbolic maneuvers that aren’t fully understood yet, but could wind up having some major implications for the region.

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Prince Hassan's hope to visit Iraq soon is sparking fresh speculation the one-time heir to the Jordanian throne -- unceremoniously dumped by his dying brother after three decades of grooming -- is a prince in search of a kingdom. An aide to the prince denied the talk Monday, but such concerns have in the past forced Hassan's nephew, King Abdullah II, to insist Jordan's royal family has no designs on ruling neighboring Iraq. Last week, Hassan told Al-Arabiya satellite channel that he plans a visit to Baghdad "soon" to try to mediate political disputes among...

On July 14, 2002, the Iraqi media commemorated the demise of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq 44 years ago. The last Hashemite king in Iraq was 23 year-old King Faisal II who was assassinated at the hands of army officers led by General Abd Al-Karim Qassim who carried out the military coup of 1958. Under the auspices of the Iraqi National Congress (the main Iraqi opposition in exile), a group of about 70 former Iraqi army officers met in London on July 12, 2002 to chart the course for overthrowing Saddam Hussein's regime and installing a new regime dedicated...

Adwan: Iraqi rallies calling for Hashemite rule `spontaneous acts' AMMAN (JT) — Reported rallies staged Tuesday in Baghdad in front of the Jordanian embassy calling for restoring Hashemite rule to Iraq were “spontaneous acts” by the public and the Kingdom has nothing to do with them, Minister of State for Political Affairs and Minister of Information Mohammad Adwan said. Adwan reaffirmed that Jordan's stand is clear and unchanged with regard to the Iraqi issue. “Such a stand is based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of Iraq. Any Iraqi leadership must be chosen by a free Iraqi...

Jordan will not allow influx of refugees — King King affirms Jordan not considering any role in Iraq AMMAN (JT) — Jordan rejects any influx of refugees either from its western or eastern borders, His Majesty King Abdullah firmly stated on Friday. “Jordan will not accept any influx of Iraqi or other refugees,” King Abdullah told the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in a wide-ranging interview. “We will not allow the setting up of camps for any refugee, whether of Iraqi or any other nationality, on Jordanian soil,” affirmed the King. “If we are considering here the passage of refugees...

Prince Zeid Raad elected head of ICC governing body AMMAN (JT) — Prince Zeid Raad, Jordan's permanent representative to the UN, is chairing the week-long session of the governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which convened for the first time at the UN headquarters on Tuesday. Prince Zeid was elected the first president of the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC — a post he will hold for a three-year term. The assembly will be responsible for the actual establishment of the ICC, and for rendering it operational. “Humanity will never truly advance,...

My calculation is that President George Bush will not delay the operation to replace Iraq's Saddam Hussein until next year but will launch it in November, or even late October. It will be a swift and terrible onslaught, coming from Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, the Persian Gulf and from the new complex of bases built up by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Britain will make the biggest contribution of forces (unofficial figure: 30,000), but there will be special troops from many countries, including Russia. It should all be over in weeks, possibly even days, perhaps in time for the...

Jordan marks Independence Day   AMMAN (JT) — Jordan marked on Saturday the 56th anniversary of its independence. Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania attended a reception at Al Hussein Youth City hosted by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb to celebrate the occasion. Addressing the audience, Abul Ragheb highlighted the role of the Hashemite family in building a strong, modern Jordan and their determination to attain more progress and remain true to the Arab Muslim identity of Jordan. Abul Ragheb said King Abdullah has continued with the Hashemite mission “with confidence, ability and earnestness despite the difficult circumstances the...