Wednesday, February 2, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

Syria and Jordan are mending relations. That is a gargantuan step in the Middle East.

The (very tall) young and relatively new Syrian president Bashar Assad ventured to Amman, Jordan to meet the (quite short) young and relatively new Jordanian King, Abdullah.

The two spoke in December, but this was the first time since April 2004 that Assad has been to Jordan.

Together, in Amman the two rulers resolved a border dispute concerning an area all of 165 yards big that Syria had taken and now returned.

Far more important were the topics covered by the Jordanian and Syrian on regional issues. They included Iraq and the Palestinians, Egypt and the US, the Iraqi elections, the role of the West in their region and the specific US presence in the area vis a vis Syria.

Jordan wants to be a leader in the Middle East.
Her Arab neighbors believe that Jordan, i.e. King Abdullah, can play the role of a trusted broker in almost any serious conflict there.

Egypt wants the Arabs to step forward and help the Palestinians.
Jordan does not want to be outdone by Egypt.
In meeting the Syrian president, Abdullah is shoring up his power base.