WarSclerotic

Jordan on the brink: Muslim Brothers mobilize for King Abdullah’s overthrow.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 25, 2012, 8:50 AM (GMT+02:00)

Jordanian riot police

Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has given King Abdullah II notice that he has until October to bow to their demand to transform the Hashemite Kingdom into a constitutional monarchy or face Arab Spring street pressure for his abdication.
debkafile’s Middle East sources report that Israeli and Saudi intelligence watchers are becoming increasingly concerned about the approaching climax of the conflict in Amman between Islamists and the throne .

For Israel, an upheaval in Jordan bodes the tightening of the Islamist noose around its borders – Egypt and Libya to the south and Syria to the north, with unpredictable consequences with regard to Jordan’s Palestinian population.
Saudi Arabia, already threatened by Iranian aggression, fears the oil kingdom may be next in line if its northern neighbor is crushed under the marching feet of the “Arab Spring.”
The oil kingdom’s royal rulers are reported to have belatedly woken up to the peril and are in a panic. They realize that their preoccupation with helping Syrian rebels overthrow Bashar Assad misdirected their attention from the enemies lurking at their own door. Thousands of articles in the Arab press in the past year have predicted that after the Muslim Brotherhood seizes power in Damascus, Amman would be next in its sights followed by Riyadh.
The latest DEBKA-Net-Weekly of Sept. 21 analyzed the plight closing in on the Jordanian monarch and outlined three of his options:

1.  He could bow to the main Muslim Brotherhood’s demand by submitting to the kingdom’s transition to a constitutional monarchy and the transfer of executive power to an MB-led government by means of the electoral reforms for which the Brothers have been pushing for years. In Jordan as in Egypt, the Brothers hope for a two-third majority in a free election.
2.  He could stand up to the Brotherhood’s demands and order his security, intelligence and military forces to crack down on the opposition. This course carries the risk of plunging Jordan into the carnage of civil war among the diverse segments of the population. The biggest dangers come from the Bedouin tribes, whose traditional allegiance to the Hashemite throne has weakened in recent years, and the Palestinians who form 60 percent of the population.

3. He could seek to negotiate a compromise through various brokers. Our sources report that several attempts at mediation have been ventured of late, but got nowhere because the Muslim Brotherhood sent its most radical leaders to the table and they left very little margin for compromise.
According to sources at the royal court, Abdullah will very soon meet with MB leaders for a personal appeal for calm after years of heated debate. Most observers believe that he has left it too late and by now the Muslim Brotherhood has got the bit between its teeth.
Indeed, according to an internal memorandum leaked to the Al-Hayat newspaper, the MB has already set a date for mass demonstrations against the King to start on Oct. 10 and ordered its members to go to work at once to mobilize at least 50,000 demonstrators for daily protests against the king and the royal family until he bows to their will.

The memorandum states: “Every member must be dedicated to communicate with his relatives, close friends, acquaintances, fellow employees and various Islamic groups and patriots…” It calls for the formation of “hotbeds to… focus on the participation of groups affiliated with universities, schools and women’s organizations.” Protesters are also advised on tactics for overcoming a security crackdown.
Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has therefore moved forward from opposition propaganda, debating and political pressure to activism against the throne.
Both Jordanian camps are anxiously watching to see which way the wind blows in the White House.

President Barack Obama has a balancing act to resolve:  On the one hand, the Jordanian king has long been a staunch American ally and friend, its mainstay in many regional crises. On the other, Obama regards the Muslim Brotherhood as the linchpin of his external policy of outreach to the Muslim world.

Israel on high alert ahead of Yom Kippur – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Complete closure imposed on West Bank and Gaza, increased police presence and security forces deployment – all part of IDF, police preparations for ‘holiest day’ of year

Ynet

The special police alertness level which was put into effect ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday will continue during Yom Kippurand will only be terminated after the Simchat Torah holiday in 10 days time.

Security forces will be standing by on Tuesday and Wednesday at cemeteries, synagogues and prayer sites and thousands of police officers will be fully deployed and stationed at city entrances, areas with large crowds and sensitive locations.

The IDF has decided to impose a complete closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip from midnight on Monday and through to Midnight on Wednesday night.

Haredim carry out ‘Kaparot’ tradition on eve of Yom Kippur

The IDF has that during the closure, passage will only be allowed in humanitarian and medical cases subject to the Civil Administration. “The IDF will continue to work to protect the citizens of the State of Israel while taking the fabric of daily Palestinian life into consideration,” the IDF said.

Magen David Adom (MDA) is also on high alert ahead of the holiday due to concerns over an influx of injuries resulting from large crowds of people taking to the streets on their bicycles as well as people becoming ill while fasting.

Influx of bicycle injuries (Photo: Moti Kimchi)

MDA Director General Eli Bin directed regional managers to go to the highest alert level until the end of the Yom Kippur fast. MDA stations will be reinforced with additional paramedics, ambulances and intensive care vehicles. It is estimated that over 2,000 people will receive medical care during the fast.

Jerusalem District Police are being especially careful this year over the recent Muslim protests and the fallout over the anti-Islamic film.

Police, Border Guard officers and volunteers will be stationed at roadblocks in order to prevent traffic from the east to west side of the capital in order to prevent clashes between Jews and Arabs.

On high alert

Police stress that alternative traffic routes will be available to the residents of east Jerusalem.

Police will be deployed throughout the capital’s shopping centers as well as in the Old City and east Jerusalem in order to maintain public order. Increased security is also expected on routes where worshippers are expected in order to prevent stone throwing incidents.

Tel Aviv will also be increasing police presence. In addition to security around the city’s synagogues, hotels and certain neighborhoods in Yaffo will also have increased police presence.

Hospitals will continue to work over the Yom Kippur holiday but only emergency cases will be admitted. The emergency room, delivery rooms and ICU will be operating as usual.

AFP: White House rejects Republican attacks on Libya.

(AFP) – 11 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The White House Monday slammed “desperate and offensive” Republicans over claims President Barack Obama dismissed the death of the US envoy to Libya and anti-US attacks as “bumps in the road.”

The president was also taken to task by his foes in the highly charged political environment before the November 6 election, for referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warnings over Iran as “noise.”

Obama said in an interview with CBS show “60 Minutes” broadcast Sunday that there were going to be “bumps in the road” following the Arab spring as nations dominated by Islam and formerly governed by dictators evolve.

Republicans, seeking to dent Obama’s electoral advantage over his challenger Mitt Romney on foreign policy, quickly attacked the president, suggesting he was downplaying the killings of four Americans in Libya.

“That assertion is both desperate and offensive,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

“The president was referring to the transformations in the region, to this process that only began less than two years ago … with remarkable transformations occurring in countries around the region.”

Carney said the nations rocked by the Arab Spring revolutions were facing huge challenges as they evolve from autocracies to what Washington hopes will be democratic states responsive to the aspirations of their people.

“This transformation will not happen overnight, and it will encounter challenges along the way, as we’ve seen,” Carney said.

Republicans quickly seized upon Obama’s remarks, with every remark of either candidate grist for political attack and manipulation with the election just over 40 days away.

“I guess when u win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing, an attack that kills an Ambassador is just a ‘bump in the road,'” former George W. Bush presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Twitter.

Eric Cantor, a Republican leader in the House of Representatives also hammered Obama.

“Even as the black flags of al-Qaeda are being hoisted over our embassies and our consulates attacked by terrorists, President Obama considers these problems no more than bumps in the road for his foreign policy,” he said.

The Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee also bombarded reporters with emails criticizing Obama’s comments.

The president told “60 Minutes” that he believed he had been correct to align US policy with demonstrators demanding freedom for autocrats, even if the reality of politics in the Arab world was now much more volatile.

“I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because — you know, in a lot of these places– the one organizing principle– has been Islam,” he said.

“There are strains of extremism, and anti-Americanism, and anti-Western sentiment. And you know (these) can be tapped into by demagogues.”

Obama also said he agreed with Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons as this would threaten both countries, the world in general, and kick off an arms race.

But Obama added: “When it comes to our national security decisions — any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people. And I am going to block out — any noise that’s out there.”

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican chairwoman of the House International Relations Committee, issued a statement through the Romney campaign condemning Obama’s remarks.

“The President of the United States must be unwavering in his commitment and resolve to standing with our most loyal democratic ally.

“President Obama has fallen far short of that, which is one of the reasons we must have Mitt Romney in the White House,” she said.

Carney rejected the Republican charge.

“The president was making clear that his commitment and this country’s commitment to Israel and Israel’s security is as strong as ever and unbreakable in nature. There’s obviously a lot of noise around this issue at times.”

via Romney slams Obama on foreign policy – Right Turn – The Washington Post.

By Jennifer Rubin

Despite the efforts of the president’s most ardent fans in the blogosphere, his “60 Minutes” train wreck, combined with revelations that the administration was telling a fable — the YouTube video made them do it — until forced to concede the embassy attacks were coordinated, terroristic and anti-American — the first clue should have been the burning flags, anti-American chants and al-Qaeda black flags — the president’s foreign policy stewardship is coming under assault.

Mitt Romney went on attack: “Look, the world looks at the events going on. They don’t see these events as bumps in the road. These are lives. This is humanity. This is freedom. Freedom must be on the march. We must stand for freedom. I see these extraordinary aircraft here and know that behind them are men and women who’ve flown them in peace, in times of danger. They fly them to protect us. They fly to make sure the world is a safer place. American leadership is derived from a strong military, which, by the way, is derived from a strong economy, which is derived from strong values and principles. I will strengthen America by restoring the principles that made us the hope of the Earth!”

According to a Jan Crawford tweet, Romney in a CBS interview also punched back, accusing the administration of “jumping the gun” in concluding (and then repeating for days) that the attacks weren’t coordinated. Well, they did have that one coming.

Tensions run high at the State Department where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s spokesman let loose the f-word in response to normal questioning about the consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya. (Poor Romney aide Rick Gorka got slammed for days for far less when he tried to quiet reporters shouting questions at the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Walter Russell Mead cracks that the “Middle East mess now so ghastly that even the MSM [is] beginning, gingerly, to ask whether [President Obama] knows what he is doing.” Well, obviously he doesn’t, and has once again shown that without a teleprompter he’s a mess.

Conservatives are lashing out. Former ambassador John Bolton, a Romney adviser who is increasingly taking a leading role as a foreign policy surrogate, put out a statement: “President Obama recently characterized Israel’s concern about the prospect of a nuclear Iran as ‘noise,’ and, to add insult to injury, knocked Israel down a notch to simply ‘one of our closest allies in the region.’ But the fact of the matter is that Israel is without a doubt our closest and most reliable ally in the region. Its concerns about an Iran armed with a nuclear weapon aren’t simply noise; they are central not only to self-preservation and security, but also to peace. These comments offer just the latest indication that President Obama doesn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the foreign policy challenges facing our nation.”

A number of Republican senators are also calling for Obama to set the record straight at the United Nations. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) put out a statement:

In his speech before the UN on Tuesday, President Obama should reiterate the United States’ unwavering resolve to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. He should strongly condemn the ongoing civilian massacres in Syria and single out the governments of Iran, China and Russia as accomplices to Assad’s murderous campaign against the Syrian people. He should renew America’s commitment to our democratic allies and partners in Asia and the peaceful and lasting resolution of entrenched territorial disputes in that region.

In light of the recent attacks against the United States and our interests in the Middle East and North Africa, President Obama should use this platform to make clear to the leaders and citizens of these parts of the world that they are facing a moment of truth. If they want America’s friendship and support in advancing the shared strategic goals of security and prosperity, they will need to act responsibly and speak consistently – in English and Arabic – about the true impediments to a better future. If the Arab Spring is to eventually bring security, freedom, opportunity and prosperity to these nations that have spent decades in darkness under an iron fist, their leaders must be honest with their people about the true nature of freedom and the need to reject radical Islamists and the violence that threatens their futures

In other words, stop pretending we’ve merely hit a “bump in the road.” Sen. John Barrasso (R- Wyo.) took a similar approach.

It is amusing to see so many mainstream reporters and lefty bloggers, who couldn’t get enough of Romney’s comments just after the Egyptian attack, now effectively putting their fingers in their ears and ignoring the news. This is how the lefty blogosphere harms its own candidate, lessening the sense of urgency and giving the White House even more reason to think they’ve got this whole election wired.

We’ll see. If nothing else it is yet another revealing moment of media hypocrisy.