Posted on 07/01/2004 9:26:15 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Jordan offers to send troops to Iraq
LONDON - Jordan's King Abdullah II said on Thursday that Jordan is willing to send troops to Iraq, potentially becoming the first Arab state to do so, if they are requested by the new Iraqi interim government.
He said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp television programme Newsnight: 'Now there is an Iraqi interim government and a fully independent process very soon in Iraq, I presume that if the Iraqis ask us for help directly it would be very difficult for us to say no.
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'Our message to the President or the Prime Minister, is tell us what you want, tell us how we can help and you have 110 per cent support from us.
'If we don't stand with them, if they fail, then we all pay the price.'
The statement marked a major shift in Jordan's policy since the US-led coalition handed power in Iraq over to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interim government. The king had initially refused to send troops.
He said he had not discussed the issue of sending troops with the new Iraqi government.
'I would feel that we are not the right people, but at the end of the day if there is something we can provide, a service to the future of Iraqis, then we'll definitely study that proposal,' he said in the interview conducted in London.
There was no immediate reaction to King Abdullah's comments, which will likely be welcomed by the US government. It was unclear if the Iraqis would take the kind up on his offer.
King Abdullah said: 'I feel optimistic we have strong, courageous leaders in Iraq ... these are good, top courageous people but the challenges that face them on security is going to be their major problem and they are going to need everybody's help.'
Iraq borders both Jordan, which maintains close relations with the United States, and Syria, which staunchly opposed the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. -- AP
Let them start riding shotgun on these convoys. And foot patrols in Fallujah.
Ping!
Unfortunately the number one terrorist Al Zarqawi is Jordanian and his family is still living in Jordan.
Hmmmmm. I'll withold judgment on this.
If this goes through, it will do more to legitimize the coalition forces by granting it Arab cover. The Jordanian Hashemites have an interest in creating a free and stable Iraq. Its not by accident Musab al Zarqawi happens to be a Palestinian born Jordanian whose goals in Iraq are the exact opposite of the ones King Abdullah has now come out on record as supporting.
If this happens, it could be a direct challenge to our other so-called allies in the region to step up and help out. BTW, the Village People called-they want their uniform back.
If this happens, it could be a direct challenge to our other so-called allies in the region to step up and help out. BTW, the Village People called-they want their uniform back.
Bump
Trojan horse?
Very interesting!
Abdullah gets it. I think sending in Jordanian troops is a good idea-they speak the language and know the culture. They may be able to patrol the borders and keep more terrorists and weapons from being brought in to Iraq. Then there's that little voice of doubt in my head asking how many royal Jordanian soldiers will walk off the job and join the jihad?
Friday, July 2, 2004
June 2004
From the Editor: The Shocking Story of WMD in Jordan
By Gerald Flurry
Have some of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) been found in Jordan?
Around the first of April this year, the Jordanian authorities captured an al-Qaeda terrorist cell that worked out of Jordan. THE TERRORISTS HAD ABOUT 20 TONS OF CHEMICALS, INCLUDING POISON GAS! That’s right, 20 tons of chemicals—or weapons of mass destruction.
The al-Qaeda leader in Jordan has confessed that they planned to kill 80,000 Jordanians with those chemicals.
King Abdullah II of Jordan told the San Francisco Chronicle that “It was a major, major operation. … It would have decapitated the government” (April 17). Yes indeed—“A MAJOR, MAJOR OPERATION.” This is chemical warfare of the worst kind! But it is getting hardly any attention from the media and politicians.
Do many of these institutions truly understand what the war against terrorism is and what the United States must do to win?
Where did these terrorists get the poison gas? The Jordanians know it came from Syria—which in itself is a dangerous act of war by that terrorist-sponsoring nation. But do America and Britain have the will to stop Syria’s terrorist activity?
Terrorism expert John Loftus was interviewed by Larry Elder of Creators Syndicate concerning the lack of media interest in the origin of the chemicals found in Jordan. Loftus, a respected author, lawyer and lecturer, is a former Army officer and Justice Department prosecutor who once held some of the highest security clearances in the world. Here is a part of that interview:
“John Loftus: There’s a lot of reason to think [the source of the chemicals] might be Iraq. We captured Iraqi members of al-Qaeda, who’ve been trained in Iraq … and now they’re in Jordan with nerve gas. … You have to have obtained it from someplace.
“Larry Elder: They couldn’t have obtained it from Syria?
“Loftus: Syria does have the ability to produce certain kinds of nerve gasses, but in small quantities. The large stockpiles were known to be in Iraq. The best U.S. and allied intelligence say that in the 10 weeks before the Iraq war, Saddam’s Russian adviser told him to get rid of all the nerve gas. … So they shipped it across the border to Syria and Lebanon and buried it. … [T]here’s no doubt these guys confessed on Jordanian television that they received the training for this mission in Iraq. … And from the description it appears this is the form of nerve gas known as VX. It’s very rare, and very tough to manufacture … one of the most destructive chemical mass production weapons that you can use. … THEY WANTED TO BUILD THREE CLOUDS, A MILE ACROSS, OF TOXIC GAS. A WHOLE WITCH’S BREW OF NASTY CHEMICALS THAT WERE GOING TO GO INTO THIS POISON CLOUD, AND THIS WOULD HAVE GONE OVER SHOPPING MALLS, HOSPITALS …” (May 6; emphasis mine throughout).
There may be more information revealed later about these chemicals, and this information could be slightly altered. Regardless, THIS IS AN EARTH-SHAKING EVENT THAT DESERVES HEADLINES IN OUR MEDIA! Unfortunately, little is being reported—even though the terrorists have made shocking confessions.
Here is more from that interview:
“Elder: You said that the Russians told Saddam, ‘There is going to be an invasion. Get rid of your chemical and biological weapons.’
“Loftus: Sure. It would only bring the United Nations down on their heads if they were shown to really have weapons of mass destruction. It’s not generally known, but THE CIA HAS FOUND 41 DIFFERENT MATERIAL BREACHES WHERE SADDAM DID HAVE A WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROGRAM OF VARIOUS TYPES. It was completely illegal. But no one could find the stockpiles. And the liberal press seems to be focusing on that.
“Elder: It seems to me that this is a huge, huge story.
“Loftus: It’s embarrassing to the [press]. They’ve staked their reputations that this stuff wasn’t there. And now all of a sudden we have al-Qaeda agents from Iraq showing up with weapons of mass destruction.”
Unparalleled Shame of the Media
Is this “a huge, huge story”? You could double or triple the word huge, and still not emphasize this too much! King Abdullah also was repeating a word when he said this was “a major, major operation.” At least a few people are trying to show us the horrendous danger of this terrorist attempt.
And where is most of the media focusing? It would seem that they are focusing on finding stockpiles of WMD only in Iraq. But this is not “a huge, huge story” if you are focused only on finding WMD in Iraq! That is a dangerously shallow view. And surely many in the media know this.
Are some in the media withholding this Jordanian story so that their political candidate can win the U.S. election? Are they sacrificing the country’s welfare on the altar of politics? Perhaps they are over-indulging in self-flagellation over the abhorrent military scandal regarding Iraqi prisoners. That scandal is abominable, but it is now being used to hide this shocking al-Qaeda capture in Jordan—which is 10,000 times more important!
After all, Saddam Hussein inflicted such abuse on his people, and much worse, as a matter of routine.
WHAT IF THE TERRORISTS HAD BEEN CAUGHT IN NEW YORK CITY OR WASHINGTON OR LOS ANGELES WITH 20 TONS OF CHEMICALS? Those 20 tons of chemicals could go a long way toward wrecking the economies of America, Britain or Israel if they were used against our nations. This is a story that goes far beyond politics or even one or two nations. It’s a WORLD CRISIS of the greatest magnitude!
The media has been screaming about no WMD ever since Saddam Hussein was toppled. Now we find 20 tons and they go shamefully, shamefully quiet! How can we even describe such a disgusting failure to seek the truth (which is supposedly why they exist). Has most of the media totally lost sight of the bigger issues—the life-and-death issues of nations?
Here is more from the Loftus interview:
“Elder: David Kay [the man put in charge of searching for WMD in Iraq] said, in an interim report, that there was a possibility that WMD components were shipped to Syria.
“Loftus: A possibility? We had a Syrian journalist who defected to Paris in January. The guy is dying of cancer, and he said, ‘Look, my friends in Syrian intelligence told me exactly where the stuff is buried.’ He named three sites in Syria, and the Israelis have confirmed the three sites. They know where the stuff is, but the problem is that the United States can’t just go around invading Arab countries. … We know from Israeli and defectors’ intelligence that the son of the Syrian defense minister was paid 50 million bucks to bring the stuff across the border and bury it.”
Did Saddam Hussein have WMD? The world knew he had them. Saddam used these weapons against Iran and his own people. Can anyone really imagine this terrorist-sponsoring dictator ever destroying those weapons? There is not one scintilla of evidence that this was ever done.
Ignoring an Ally
The people of Jordan—friends of America, Britain and Israel—are a very special people in the Arab world. The BBC on April 30 wrote, “Her Majesty Queen Raniya on Thursday (April 29) participated with thousands of Jordanians in a national public rally pledging allegiance to the country, denouncing all forms of terror and calling for security and stability in the region.
“‘The silent majority decided to speak out against terrorism in a first-of-its-kind demonstration in the Arab and Muslim world on this scale,’ Queen Raniya told the Jordan news agency, Petra.
“Walking hand-in-hand with 9th-grade students from public schools, Queen Raniya joined around 250,000 Jordanians from all walks of life who converged on Amman from all over the kingdom to condemn all forms of violence and terrorism.”
How rare this is in the Arab world. CAN WE AFFORD TO VIRTUALLY IGNORE SUCH A NOBLE EFFORT IN THE RADICAL MUSLIM WORLD?
Jordan doesn’t have the power to defend itself from the terrorists, sponsored by Syria. Only America can do that. Our media should be supporting the U.S. government in stopping Syria by doing whatever is required. But that is not the case. Most of the media simply do not understand what the U.S. must do to win the war against terrorism.
Too many in the media and politics refuse to see the big picture. We aid the terrorists by practically ignoring friendly nations like Jordan, Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree, Pakistan and Libya. We went to war in Iraq with hopes of pressuring terrorist nations to become our friends and oppose terrorism. But at the same time, so many of our leaders in politics and the media do too little to support friendly nations in the Middle East!
King Abdullah also had this to say about the latest plot that was stopped: that his country had “lived through an extremely delicate situation in recent days, but divine protection has thwarted the plans of these criminals and saved the lives of thousands of civilians in what WOULD HAVE BEEN A CRIME NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN THE KINGDOM” (New York Times, April 14).
Jordan has been the target of several terrorist attacks. The really serious attacks have been foiled. (And that is the most fascinating and hopeful story of all. You can learn all about this subject in our Daniel booklet. Just ask for it—all of our literature is free.)
But still, “Given the best intelligence in the world, if you stop the terrorists time and time again and foil their plots, but never go out and eliminate them at the source, all you are doing is training them to do better next time” (Capitalism Magazine, Oct. 11, 2001).
Syria is one of those sources. And until the United States has the will to deal with such sources as Syria and Iran, it can never win the war against terrorism.
Copyright ©2004 Philadelphia Church of God.
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Don't worry your loud-Republican-head. Joining the jihad is so pre-WOT, man! The in-crowd is now fighting the jihad.
Or, so I hope. ;)
True.
"Jordan has provided incredible, but very quiet support to us during the war in Iraq.
I get the feeliing that Abdullah (and Jordan) are trying to be the reasonable Arab factor
in this chapter of the WOT."
____________________________________________________________
I am not sure of the reasons, but I know for a fact that they did provide some valid early war accomadations.
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