GOD SAVE THE KING :

Jordan prince touted to succeed Saddam (Brian Whitaker, July 19, 2002, The Guardian)

As US officials and Iraqi opposition groups squabble over possible successors to Saddam Hussein, Prince Hassan of neighbouring Jordan is emerging as a surprise contender.

The idea, which has support in the Pentagon and among conservative thinkers in the US, envisages the prince rising above Iraqi factionalism as a compromise figurehead, or even as king. [...]

Hassan, 55, was crown prince of Jordan for many years and effectively ruled the country during the terminal illness of his eldest brother, the late King Hussein. [...]

Speculation has been heightened by the fact that the Jordanian royal family is related to the Iraqi royal family, whose last king, Faisal II, was deposed and assassinated in 1958.

No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the Hashemite restoration is only a motion away... Posted by Orrin Judd at July 23, 2002 9:52 PM