Page 99 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021 (Crest)

Hussein asserted his authority and imposed a period of martial law.
Over the next ten years Hussein avoided threats from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria as well as the assassination of his cousin the King of Iraq. On 10th November 1958, the air- craft he was piloting was attacked by two Syr- ian MiGs. His skilful evasion of the assassination attempt added to his popularity in Jordan. On 29th August 1960, a bomb killed the Prime Min- ister and the secondary device, intended for the King as he rushed to the scene, only failed by a few minutes. Another plot involved replacing the King’s nasal drops with acid and a cook was arrested for killing cats while trying the best poi- son to dispose of the monarch.
On 6th October 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in what became known as the Yom Kip- pur War. Jordan joined the Arab side in the latter stages supporting Syria on the Golan Heights but did not lose any further territory. After the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1979, Jordan became a close ally supporting Iraq in its war with Iran and receiving subsidised oil in return. This unfortu- nately led to the marginalisation of Jordan by the international community after Saddam invaded Kuwait but increased his popularity at home. In 1994 King Hussein signed a peace treaty with Israel, the second Arab country after Egypt to do so.
In May 1998 Hussein was diagnosed with can- cer and undertook extensive treatment in the USA. After a short return to Jordan, his condi-
In the mid-1960s, Hussein jug-
gled a growing Palestinian popu-
lation and Israeli reprisals for their
raids as well as opposition from
pro-Russian Egypt and Syria.
This led to an ill-advised pact with
Egypt on 30 May 1967 which
included handing over com-
mand of the army to the Egyp-
tian General Riad and accepting
Iraqi troops in the country. On 5th
June, Israel launched a pre-emp-
tive strike destroying the Egyptian
air force but Rial, misinformed by
his superiors that it was the oppo-
site, launched an attack on Israel.
Hussein survived another assassination attempt when Israeli planes attacked his palace until dip- lomatic pressure from the USA curtailed these direct threats. The Six-Day War was a disaster for Jordan. The West Bank (which accounted for 40% of the GDP) was lost and 200,000 refugees flooded into the country.
The growth of the Palestine Liberation Organi- sation (PLO) and its increasing attacks on Israel combined with a further two assassination attempts and the hijack and destruction of three airliners at a remote Jordanian airstrip galva- nised Hussein into action. Coordinated attacks on PLO camps and a heavy defeat of a Syrian intervention force backed up by Israeli air force dummy runs in a show of support, won the day. The PLO fighters were allowed to retreat to Leb- anon where they proved the root cause of the subsequent Civil War.
tion worsened in early 1999 and he returned for further treatment. On 4th February, knowing the end was near, Hussein was flown back to Jordan, fighter jets from numerous countries including the UK escort- ing the aircraft across their air space. Three days later the King died and an estimated 10% of the population of Jordan lined the funeral procession route. Hussein was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah, himself an alumnus of Sandhurst.
King Hussein held his country
together for 46 years; in fact, it was calculated that 90% of all Jordanians had been born during his reign. With minimal natural resources, in the middle of a conflict zone and home to hundreds of thousands of refugees, his leadership steered the country through cri- sis after crisis, surviving numerous assassination attempts along the way. In 1980 an Israeli intel- ligence report described him as: “a man trapped on a bridge burning at both ends, with croco- diles in the river beneath him.”
With minimal natural resources, in the middle of a conflict zone and home to hundreds of thousands
of refugees, his leadership steered the country through crisis after crisis
HISTORICAL 97