THE LEGACY OF KING HUSSEIN New generation of Arab leaders takes hold with Abdullah’s ascent

LONDON, Feb. 8 (JTA) — Just as the late King Hussein transformed Jordan from a desert kingdom to a modern nation-state, his heir, the Western-educated, U.S.-oriented King Abdullah, could provide the template for future Arab leaders. In a region where Arab leaders, from Egypt and Syria to the oil-rich Gulf states, are mostly in their 70s, major changes at the apex of the power pyramid are set for major change. The fate of many of these states, often personified by leaders who have been in power for 20 years or more, will depend on the quality of succession. In this respect, mineral-poor Jordan appears exceptionally richly blessed. Abdullah, 37, was educated exclusively in Britain and the United States. He attended school in both countries, and after graduating from Britain’s elite Sandhurst Military Academy, he completed a diploma in international relations at Oxford University before studying at Georgetown University in Washington. Having spent more than half his life in the West, it is perhaps not surprising that he is more comfortable in English than in Arabic, and that his Arabic is overlaid with a heavy English accent. Returning to Jordan in 1984, and with no thought of succeeding his father to the throne, he became a career soldier, rising to the rank of major-general in command of the elite Special Forces. Nor is Abdullah a cardboard cutout army general. Easygoing, athletic, with a taste for fast cars and high living is how he is described by those who knew him in his younger days. Those who know him now say he has many of the qualities of his late father: He is, they say, a straightforward, energetic and hard-working man with a strong, muscular handshake who looks his interlocutors directly in the eye. Nor has he lost his taste for fast cars, and, like his father, he holds a pilot’s license. His pastimes include parachuting and water sports, particularly scuba diving. Abdullah is also an enthusiastic “Trekkie” — a fan of “Star Trek” — and his passion was rewarded with a walk-on part in a recent episode of the television series. He assumed power on Sunday with minimal political training, but there are already early indications that he comes to the job equipped with political instincts that would have pleased his highly experienced and pragmatic father. His private conversations were enough to convince President Clinton to accelerate a $300 million aid package for the cash-starved kingdom and to win the confidence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that peace with Jordan was secure in his hands. He made comments to that effect in an interview with Western reporters. More important, though, were his words in Arabic to an Arab audience via an interview with the London-based, Saudi-owned daily al-Hayat on Saturday. Abdullah’s fundamental message was that his rule would represent continuity: he supported peace with Israel, expressed a close affinity with the United States, spoke of his concern about the threat from Iran and, like his father, adopted a carefully nuanced pro-American position on Iraq. He stressed that, as a major-general in the Jordanian army, he had formed deep friendships with many Israelis in both political and military circles, and he expected to construct “a permanent peace built on confidence and trust.” Iran “still causes a problem,” he said, noting that “the Shi’ite elements remain a concern.” He doubted that Iran’s relatively moderate President Mohammad Khatami had secured control from the hard-line mullahs and noted: “Until that happens, you can’t conceive Iran to have changed that much.” While expressing concern for the “humanitarian disaster of the Iraqi people,” Abdullah was adamant that “a rehabilitation of the Iraqi regime” was premature. “Our stand is behind the people of Iraq,” he said, emphasizing the need for “democracy and pluralism.” The Iraqi people, he said, are currently too concerned about “trying to get by day to day” to oppose their government effectively: “If their situation is improved, maybe they will take stock and realize they have gone from one war to another war to another. “If there is going to be change, there has to be change from within,” he said. Abdullah clearly believes that the emergence of a new generation of leaders could portend positive changes in the region. He pledged to continue the trend initiated by his father — “more support for the process of democratic transformation, political pluralism and freedom of expression, and more support for the institutions of civilian life” — even though such reforms would ultimately involve a dilution of royal power. “Democracy,” he said, “is a learning experience. Down the line, you will see a shift of responsibility as institutions mature.” Like his late father, Abdullah’s overriding preoccupation will be to ensure the continuation of the Hashemite dynasty in a country where Palestinians constitute some 60 percent of the population. “The Hashemites are the unifying factor of Jordan,” he said. “That is what binds us together, Palestinians and Bedouins and everyone else.” Indeed, beyond the Bedouin-Palestinian fault lines inside Jordan and the potential threats from Syria, Iran and Iraq outside, Abdullah’s overarching task will to heal the rifts that emerged over the succession within his own royal Hashemite family and restore both the appearance and substance of unity. That will be the essential prerequisite to consolidating his authority and the legitimacy of his rule.