The relationship between Jordan and Iraq is an important one, and no rift should be allowed to grow under the weight of currents seeking to hijack Iraq away from its Arab surroundings, for the sake of other calculations that could gamble away all of Iraq and the region.
اضافة اعلان
I have visited Iraq four times: twice by land during Saddam Hussein's rule, and I did not leave a single city without visiting it, and we saw the traces of the unjust international siege on our brothers there. The third time was by air, still under Saddam's regime, alongside the late former Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Al Ragheb. The significance of that visit was that it initiated the breaking of the air blockade, and the talks that day witnessed a notable development. The fourth time was also by air, after the fall of the regime, and we were fasting during Ramadan, alongside former Prime Minister Nader Al Dhahabi. Along with the Jordanian delegation, I witnessed the talks with the Iraqis during Nouri Al Maliki's time, and we met the late Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Sulaymaniyah.
We never felt like strangers on any of these visits, because Iraq holds a special place for Jordanians, a place built on history and geography, not on the shifting phases and reversals of circumstance we have witnessed over time.
These days, though, it is genuinely striking to see signs of hostility from a limited few who do not represent the majority of Iraqis, signs that first appeared as early as 2003, coming from certain Iraqi figures that ordinary Iraqis followed, based on the accusation that Jordan is pro Saddam in sympathy and must be punished, followed later by the effects of the relationship with Iran.
A couple of days ago, I heard an Iraqi affiliated with one of the factions, not representing the Iraqi state, saying that there are armed Iraqi units preparing to invade Jordan through its eastern border with Iraq. Talk like this isn't just overreach; it reflects a lack of awareness of reality, of the cost of such words, and of the sensitivities of the situation across the entire region.
We now find ourselves facing a strange phenomenon: a limited few directing sharp words at Jordan and daring to provoke it, even though Jordan is Iraq's western neighbor. Yet the absence of awareness, and detachment from the obligations of the region's shared Arab identity, coupled with immersion in cultural, political, and social circles lacking that awareness, has produced a continuous wave of hostile commentary, signs of which we have seen in football matches, in the current war, and through statements by Iraqi members of parliament.
Jordan received millions of Iraqis and never held it over anyone. It is also Iraq's western backbone, and Iraqis should understand, strategically, that it could serve as their gateway to safety at some point. Jordan never stabbed Iraq in the back. It is enough that Jordan protected the border between the two countries and prevented the flow of armed military groups that targeted our brothers along sectarian lines during the waves of killing and bombing that ravaged them.
What needs to be said today carries a two part message. The first is for Jordanian policy, and its content is that we must strengthen the relationship with Iraqis and not allow this growing wave of estrangement to continue, while recognizing that the problem here is fundamentally not a Jordanian one. Jordanian officials have repeatedly visited Iraq since 2003 to strengthen the relationship, and we must not give in to any of these signals, because this is not a story about barrels of oil, as some believe, but is tied first to the security of the region, the fate of its peoples, the shape of maps to come, and attempts at partition, destruction, and displacement. This obligates us in Jordan to defend the permanence of our relationship with Iraq in every sense of the word, state and people alike.
The second message is for Iraqi policy, and its content is that geopolitical calculations, interests, and moral considerations alike require our brothers in Iraq to safeguard the relationship with Jordan, and not let the emotions of the moment override strategic calculations, especially since we understand that Iraq itself is being targeted and is counted as part of an axis under attack. This calls for a review of these calculations, and for preventing negative sentiment from spreading among Iraqis regarding Jordan, which requires wise, leading elites, rather than the bickering we hear every couple of days everywhere, bickering that does not represent the majority of Iraqis nor speak in the name of the Iraqi state.
We love Iraq, we want it as an ally, and we will not give up on it under any circumstances, and we hold the same right over it in return.
