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Jordan Slouching Toward Tehran

(Jerusalem Post) Caroline B. Glick - Two weeks ago, Jordan, the West's most stable and loyal ally in the Arab world, began slouching toward Iran. On Dec. 12, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman and extended a formal invitation from Ahmadinejad for him to pay a state visit to Iran. Abdullah accepted. Abdullah was one of the first world leaders to sound the alarm on Iran. In 2004 Abdullah warned of a "Shiite crescent" extending from Iran to Iraq, through Syria to Lebanon. In a WikiLeaks leaked cable from April 2009, U.S. Ambassador to Jordan R. Stephen Beecroft wrote, "Jordan's leaders are careful not to be seen as dictating toward the U.S., but their comments betray a powerful undercurrent of doubt that the United States knows how to deal effectively with Iran." Beecroft reported a clear warning from Abdullah, who cautioned that if the Arabs believe that the U.S. was appeasing Iran at their expense, "that engagement will set off a stampede of Arab states looking to get ahead of the curve and reach their own separate peace with Tehran."
2010-12-27 07:52:57
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