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15 Nov 2011 14:18

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World: Jordan’s King Abdullah would step down were he Assad

  • An “expiration date”: Here’s a look at an interview recently conducted with Jordan’s King Abdullah, who speaks in understandably pessimistic terms about the nature of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria. While predicting that the use of violence against his own citizens meant that Assad could not maintain power unchallenged, he also expressed concern as to who would lead Syria afterwards — a member of the same regime doing little good. This comes at a time of great violence in Syria; just yesterday between fifty and seventy-one people were killed. source

25 Sep 2011 10:37

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World: Saudi Arabia: What women can and can’t do in the country

  • can Vote, and run for office, in local elections. King Abdullah has opened up a significant route of social reform for women in the country, which is incredibly conservative to this day.
  • can’t Drive. Leave the country on their own. Work without approval from a male guardian. And so on. While the equality movement has gained a significant victory today, it has a very long way to go. source

08 Aug 2011 08:29

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World: King Abdullah, somewhat hypocritically, speaks out against Syrian violence

  • Any sane Arab, Muslim or anyone else knows that this has nothing to do with religion, or ethics or morals; spilling the blood of the innocent for any reasons or pretext leads to no path to…hope.
  • Saudi King Abdullah • Denouncing the Syrian government’s violent crackdown on anti-government protests. Abdullah’s denunciation is politically significant, given his significance in the Arab world, and it comes on the heels of a similar condemnation from the Arab League. However, it’s worth noting that last March, Abdullah provided military support to the Bahrainian government to help it suppress on its own anti-government protests, so for him to now suddenly condemn counter-revolutionary government crackdowns seems just a tad insincere. source

08 Aug 2011 04:51

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World: Arab League, Saudi King denounce Syrian violence

  • 200 Syrian tanks rolled into the city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday, accompanied by soldiers and armored cars
  • 50+ people were killed in the assault, which took place during the dawn call to prayer  source
  • » For the first time, the Arab League has condemned the al-Assad regime’s violent assaults on the protesters, and Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its ambassador to Syria. Saudi King Abdullah strongly denounced the violence, calling for “an end to the death machine and bloodshed.”

01 Feb 2011 10:38

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World: Analyst: King Abdullah’s new PM in Jordan “a safe pair of hands”

  • I wouldn’t see it as a sign of liberalisation. With his previous premiership, he talked the talk of reform but little actually happened.
  • London’s City University Professor of Middle East policy studies Rosemary Hollis • Revealing about Jordan what’s probably obvious from the fact that a previous prime minister (Marouf Bakhit) was appointed to replace the current one (Samir Rifai): It’s likely an act and probably won’t have any real effect on the leadership of the country. “He’s someone who would be seen as a safe pair of hands,” she noted. To be clear, that’s a safe pair of hands for King Abdullah. source

01 Feb 2011 08:28

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World: Jordan’s new Prime Minister, Maruf Bakhit, an old hat at this job

Meet Jordan’s new Prime Minister, Maruf Bakhit. Look familiar? He should. He was Prime Minister from 2005 to 2007. Talk about change you can believe in. source

29 Jan 2011 10:09

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World: What do Egypt’s neighbors have to say about the protests?

  • saudis Saudi King Abdullah called Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak to say this: “No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt.” So, he’s totally on Mubarak’s side still.
  • palestinians Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Mubarak and “affirmed his solidarity with Egypt and and his commitment to is its security and stability.” Thats’s not as direct as the Saudis, but still clearly favoring Mubarak. source
 

04 Dec 2010 22:18

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Politics: Hillary Clinton, Iranian foreign minister not feeling the love

  • I said ‘Hello, minister.’ He just turned away.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • On the icy reception she received from Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, at a nuclear conference in Bahrain. He wouldn’t even look at her. Icy! Mottaki denies that he was rude to her and claims that he was trying to say hello to King Abdullah of Jordan. Next time they run into one another, they should give each other a big hug to emphasize the lack of hard feelings. source

03 Jun 2009 09:53

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U.S., World: Obama is hanging on every word the king of Saudi Arabia says

Man, we wish that people would listen to much with as much attention as Obama’s giving King Abdullah. source