Page 99 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021

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