Jordan walks a tightrope as internal threats mount

As it restructures its security apparatus to confront mounting regional threats, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has also adopted an increasingly confrontational foreign policy toward Israel. But what begins as incitement often evolves into a domestic threat. King Abdullah II has recently issued unusual directives to reorganize Jordan's security agencies in light of a new Middle East reality. At the heart of the plan is a new strategy and roadmap designed to structurally transform the kingdom's armed forces within three years.

The goal, Abdullah has made clear, is to enable the military to address present and future threats, including those posed by technological developments. The aim is to ensure that the Jordanian Armed Forces and other security bodies can operate effectively in "diverse operational environments," including against actors using artificial intelligence, cyberattacks and drones. The move may reflect lessons drawn from the wars in Syria and Yemen, where conventional armies struggled against terrorist organizations.

In recent years, public discourse in Jordan has increasingly focused on threats of terrorist infiltration and the establishment of sleeper cells within the kingdom. This comes alongside ongoing weapons and drug smuggling across Jordan's borders using drones. Despite the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, which had been the primary force behind the captagon drug trade, criminal networks continue their smuggling attempts. (Ed note: Is the area of Ammon and Moab no longer happy with the Hashemite royal court?) (Read More)