Unrest Hits Jordan For A Second Day

Jordan Hit With More Protests, Work Stoppages Over Fuel Price Hikes -- Washington Post

AMMAN, Jordan — Security forces battled demonstrators armed with torches and in some cases firearms in a number of violent clashes across Jordan on Wednesday, as protests over rising fuel prices entered a second day.

At least 14 people were reported injured and 35 protesters were arrested during two days of scattered melees that included assaults on government buildings and the torching of cars and gas stations. The disturbances, the worst in Jordan since Arab Spring protests began 23 months ago, stoked fears of deepening unrest in this strategically vital U.S. ally.

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More News On The Growing Unrest In Jordan

Jordan Hit by 2nd Day of Violent Street Protests -- ABC News/AP
Thousands chant 'revolution' in rare protest against Jordan's king -- NBC
Security forces clash with protesters in Jordan -- L.A. Times
Jordanians Protest Rising Fuel Prices -- Voice of America
Riots Erupt Across Jordan Over Gas Prices -- New York Times
New wave of protest sweeps Jordan -- The National
Jordan risks instability after lifting of subsidies -- Reuters
Jordanian protesters make rare move: speak out against King Abdullah -- CNN
Jordan's Abdullah Can Only Blame Himself -- Bloomberg
Jordan’s Survival Strategy Hits a Wall: Tightening Funds Make It Hard to Buy Support -- Tony Karon, Time

Is Syria's Civil War About To Spread Into Jordan?

INSIGHT: Jordan – Next Battleground in Syria Conflict? -- Middle East Voices

Concerns that the violence in Syria could spill over the border into Jordan were realized when a group of Jordanian militants were arrested, accused of planning a series of attacks in the capital, Amman.

On October 21, Jordan’s General Intelligence Directorate (GID) announced that it had detained 11 local militants, who it alleged had been training with al-Qaida-linked groups in Iraq and smuggling weapons from Syria. The men were said to have been going in and out of Syria for some months and were planning attacks designed to seriously destabilize Jordan.

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More News On A Syrian Spillover Into Jordan

Syrian jihadist spillover haunts Jordan -- Reuters
Lebanon and Jordan Move Quickly to Contain Syria-Related Violence -- New York Times
Syrian Refugees Struggle in Jordanian Camps -- Voice of America
Al-Qaeda's gift to Jordan's King Abdullah -- Jillian Schwedler, Al Jazeera
Why failed terror attack in Jordan matters to U.S. -- Jonathan Schanzer, Special to CNN

Unrest Growing In Jordan

Jordanian protesters calling themselves the Youth of March 24 Movement demonstrate for political reform and clash against government supporters in Amman. (March, 2011. Muhammad Hamed / Reuters)

Disquiet On The Jordanian Front -- Carnegie Endowment

September has witnessed a massive—and potentially irreversible—shift in strategy among segments of Jordan’s opposition movement: a number of political activists are now openly and repeatedly calling for a limitation of the monarchy's powers—with a small (though extremely vocal) minority even explicitly calling for the abdication of King Abdullah II. In a strikingly blunt statement by the organizers of the 8 September protest in East Amman's Haya al-Tafileh neighborhood—who gathered in response to arrest of a number of fellow activists a day prior and later reorganized on September 11 and 13 at Amman’s Interior Ministry Circle and Second Circle—accusations struck at the king's carefully curated international image as a modern, democracy-building reformer. Their Facebook statement reads, in part: "You are disguised in the costume of freedom and democracy, while hiding inside of you is absolute fascism and control over the destiny of this country and the livelihood of its people. We can no longer be patient with this repression of our arrested sons, with no guilt other than demanding freedom and social justice for all Jordanians, and fighting corruption that is royally sponsored." [Full Arabic original and English translation available here]

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My Comment: With a full blown civil war in it's neighbor Syria .... the Arab Spring will probably be taking a back seat in Jordan. But the civil war in Syria will end one day, and Jordan (along with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf sheikdoms) are probably next for the Arab Spring to 'visit'..