MASTER OF BLOWBACK:

Jordan bombs a terrorist master-stroke (Ehsan Ahrari, 11/11/05, Asia Times)

In the deadly game of transnational terrorism, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has proved himself to be a formidable opponent.

Even if you're rooting for the Islamicists and against democracy you have to acknowledge that this was yet another blunder by al Qaeda, don't you? Not only were large crowds out in the streets of Amman denouncing him, but CNN and some others sent folks to Zarqawi's hometown of Zarqa, Jordan, which had previously been at least ambivalent about him, if not outright supportive, and now popular reaction there was hostile too. Every bomb they've set off outside Iraq has been detrimental to their cause except Madrid.

MORE:
Angry Jordanians denounce bombing of 3 hotels in Amman (Michael Matza, 11/10/05, Knight Ridder Newspapers)

"Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" hundreds of angry demonstrators shouted, honking horns and waving Jordanian flags outside the Radisson SAS hotel, where one of the bombs turned a wedding into a bloodbath. Others shouted "Jordan First" from their cars as they passed through the city.

"We will cut the hand that is trying to shake our peaceful country," read one demonstrator's banner. [...]

"Anything that happens has two aspects, one good, one bad," said Salah Al-Sheikh, 35, an English teacher at an Amman public school. "An advantage of what happened is the unity you see now. The message to the criminals who did this is: If you wanted to divide the people, you won't succeed." [...]

Jordan, the most moderate Arab state in the Middle East, has long been a strong ally of the United States. Even so, Jordanians have grown weary of America's military presence in Iraq, and Iraqis' resistance to foreign occupation is often viewed as an act of Arab dignity and patriotism.

But there was no sympathy evident Thursday for Zarqawi, a Jordanian national, and his brand of bloody insurgency.

"What happened here is inhuman. Whoever did this is a coward. It was against innocent people. We were disgusted with what is happening in Iraq before this happened. This will not change anyone's opinion," said Montaha Safi, 43, a travel agent who closed up early as Amman's roads filled with cars cruising bumper to bumper in slow-moving protest convoys.

Many people interviewed said whoever perpetrated the bombings can't claim to have acted in the name of Islam because the religion doesn't condone attacks on innocent people.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 10, 2005 8:22 PM