Al-Qaeda's Gift to Jordan's Monarchy

The foiled al-Qaeda plan to attack multiple sites in Jordan was a gift to Jordan's King Abdullah. While a western audience views the king as a moderate in a sea of extremism, Jordanians have grown weary of his empty democracy talk and revolving-door cabinets that never deliver on promises. With increasing dissent among the regime's loyal opposition as well as its traditional support base, and with Syrian refugees showing signs of unrest, the arrest of the al-Qaeda plotters inside Jordan provided a welcome diversion for the king. It refocused attention on domestic security and the regime's ability to protect its subjects, and away from the unpopular presence of US troops in the kingdom and the widespread demand by citizens for real political reform.