A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, March 21, 2013

King ‘Abdullah II: Backing Away from an Interview

King ‘Abdullah II of Jordan is next on President Obama's list for his Middle East tour, which moves to Jordan tomorrow. He'll be fresh from a bit of controversy: an article in The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg, "The Modern King in the Arab Spring." It's a very candid interview in which the King is quoted on many of his neighbors, saying nice things about Netanyahu, not-so-nice things about Morsi and Erdogan (warnung if the rise of a "Muslim Brotherhood crescent" from Egypt to Turkey).

The damage control started almost immediately: a "senior official at the royal court" said the interview contained errors and inaccuracies (Arabic link); a royal Facebook fan page noted Goldberg had served in the IDF; in effect, the King (or that "senior official f the Royal Court) repudiated oarts of the interview.

There's a good analysis by Jordanian blogger Naseem Tarawnah here, and also more on the damage control here,

No comments: