The fear that the National Guard in Jordan may launch a full-scale series of attacks inside Israeli territory is entertained by Lt. Gen. John Baggot Glubb, commanding officer of the Arab Legion, who is known as Glubb Pasha, it is repeated today from Amman by the correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor.
“If this should happen,” the correspondent says, “there is a strong possibility that England may, of her own accord, step out of her role of protector and banker to Jordan. This is exactly the result the Jordanian anti-British bloc wishes to achieve. If England moves out, certainly Gen. Glubb will follow, which will mean the end, at least in the Middle East, of an honorable career. It may well spell the disintegration of the famed Arab Legion.”
The Amman correspondent reports that there is much intrigue against Britain in Jordan, and that both England and Glubb Pasha are encountering heavy opposition from an active group within the Jordan Government as a result of a secret agreement signed recently between King Hussein of Jordan and King Pon Saud Abdul Azziz of Saudi Arabia.
The ruler of Saudi Arabia is reported to have obligated himself under this agreement to match the 11,000,000-pound sterling which Britain is giving to Jordan. Seven and a half million pounds of this total sum goes into maintaining the Arab Legion, the 14,000-man fighting body that General Glubb has built up over a period of two decades. In addition, King Saud agreed to absorb Jordan’s surplus wheat and any other agricultural products it may produce.
SAUDI ARABIA TO FINANCE JORDANIAN PATROLS ON ISRAEL BORDER
The report also reveals that King Saud suggested he would be willing to help support the Jordanian National Guard, which patrols the long Jordan-Israel border. This force is commanded by Lt. Col. Radi Handwai. At the same meeting, King Saud reportedly said that such financial support would be withheld if the National Guard was placed under the command of General Glubb. In turn, General Glubb has long insisted that a move toward such a unified command would be in the best interests of the country.
King Saud, going a big step further, said that perhaps above all, he wanted to see General Glubb removed from his present command. King Hussein I, who is personally very friendly with Glubb Pasha, apparently had no choice but to agree with the full terms of the bargain, the Amman correspondent reports. There is no doubt that the 14,000-man Arab Legion is confused by this unexpected turn of events, which may result in Glubb being ousted from the post he held so long the correspondent states.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
