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Nov 27 2005
By Daoud Kuttab
Contrary to impulsive thinking, the real challenge to Jordan following the triple hotel bombing is not a security one. Blessed with a strong internal security apparatus, and a relatively homogeneous population, Jordan’s King Abdullah II has few strategic security issues to worry about. His real challenge is a socioeconomic one. Continue Reading »
Nov 27 2005
The Palestinian Israeli conflict is very strange. It has lasted so long that public opinion has lost its power to affect policy or leaders’ decision making. No matter what the Palestinian or Israeli public wants, what happens on the ground and in decision making circles in Tel Aviv and Ramallah rarely reflects public opinion. Continue Reading »
Nov 23 2005
Thursday November 17
It only occurred to me while waiting for the fog to clear up in the plane on the Queen Alia Airport . Seated next to me in the Air France flight to Paris was Washington Post bureau chief in the French capital John Anderson. When he asked me why I was going through Paris to get to Tunis , I realized that this was yet another example of the plague that has been infecting the Arab world. Jordan has a daily flight to Paris and other European capitals but once a week flight to neighboring Arab state Tunis . And this was not a problem with Jordan, my travel agent failed to find anything in nearby Arab countries for a connecting flight to Tunisia . If Arabs are one day expected to raise the level of inter Arab business from the current single digit levels, the very least will require daily flight from and to the major capitals of the countries that make the Arab world.
Nov 10 2005
By Daoud Kuttab
The problem in our household after the triple bombing in Amman was how to tell our six year old daughter, Dina. The urgency of the problem was because the Jordanian government had called for a day of mourning the following day and schools were expected to be closed. Because she is so inquisitive we knew that once we tell Dina there was no school in the morning she will want to know why.
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My wife Salam was also worried about Dina’s reaction because every night as she puts her to sleep they pray, among other things, for the security of the city and the country. The night before I had been made responsible for putting her to sleep and the security of the city was part of her nightly prayer routine. Continue Reading »
Nov 07 2005
By: Daoud Kuttab*
The biggest question in the upcoming elections for the Palestinian legislature is not how many seats Hamas will win. Nor are people questioning how the mixed elections (district and national) will play out. The real question on most Palestinian’s lips these days is who will represent the leading Palestinian party (movement). Continue Reading »