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Al-Qaeda's Gift to Jordan's King Abdullah

(Al-Jazeera) Jillian Schwedler - The foiled al-Qaeda plan to attack multiple sites in Jordan was a gift to Jordan's King Abdullah. With increasing dissent among the regime's loyal opposition as well as its traditional support base, the arrest of the al-Qaeda plotters inside Jordan provided a welcome diversion. It refocused attention on domestic security and away from the unpopular presence of U.S. troops in the kingdom and widespread demands for real political reform. Tribal sheikhs have complained bitterly of being ignored and of having their loyalty taken for granted. But as angry as tribal elements are at the regime, they fear even more the empowerment of the majority Palestinian population. The writer is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
2012-10-31 00:00:00
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