Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Jordan embarrassed as bombing reveals CIA link


Death of Jordanian agent in attack on American base has put quiet collaboration into the public domain

Ian Black, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 January 2010

"King Abdullah of Jordan looked suitably solemn at the funeral for Captain Sharif Ali bin Zeid, the intelligence officer killed in Afghanistan by his own agent-turned-suicide-bomber. But signs are the king has been badly discomfited by the unprecedented public exposure of his country's role working with the CIA.....

The late King Hussein was even reported to be on the CIA payroll, while his intimate relations with successive British governments have continued under his son. The Jordanian capital, Amman, served as a base for western intelligence operations against Iraq during the long years of sanctions against Saddam Hussein.....

Jordan's General Intelligence Department (GID) – universally known as the Mukhabarat – is admired by professionals and is sometimes compared to Israel's Mossad secret service. Having its own website provides a veneer of modernity but it has a reputation for ruthlessness that has brought harsh criticism from human rights groups. It plays a key role monitoring Jordan's domestic politics....

"The CIA connection … has now been put out in the public sphere for all to see – especially the Arab street," wrote one Jordanian blogger. "The Jordanian government will likely go on as if nothing ever happened, believing that Jordanians have no access to information, but [as] practically every Jordanian household has al-Jazeera and a million other channels, this is one piece of information that isn't going to be kept quiet."....."

No comments: