King on the Spot

By any measure, King Hussein of Jordan is a moderate Arab monarch: antiCommunist, pro-Western, and opposed to throwing anything more threatening than verbal brickbats at Israel. Jordan has the longest and most vulnerable border with Israel of any of the Arab nations, is the first target of the Israelis' periodic retaliatory raids to Arab terrorist bombings.

However prudent it may be, Hussein's moderation is no virtue in the eyes of Arab firebrands, notably Syrian-born Nasserite Ahmed Shukairy. As the boss of the Palestine Liberation Organization, dedicated to retaking Israel for the Arabs, Shukairy for three years has been beating the desert for money, arms and men. Egypt and Syria have provided the P.L.O. with training bases, and so far Shukairy has recruited some 8,000 Arabs and allegedly sent some off to China for training.

Abusive Barrage. With 650,000 Palestinian refugees in Jordan--fully one-third of his nation's population--Hussein has had to pay lip service to Shukairy's militant dreams. But when it came to allowing Shukairy's recruiters to go to work in Jordan, the King drew the line. "In this country there will be one army with one loyalty," he said. "Anything else is an infringement of sovereignty and will not be tolerated." With that, Shukairy turned on Hussein, presumably with the tacit consent of Nasser, who is none too happy with Hussein's recent warmth toward Saudi Arabia's King Feisal, Nasser's bitterest Arab enemy. Wrote Cairo's semiofficial Al Goumhouria: "The Palestine Liberation Organization has no alternative but to enter a battle to the finish with the Jordanian ruler."

Using the Cairo-based "Voice of Palestine," Shukairy loosed a barrage of abuse against Hussein. The King hit back by branding Shukairy, whose P.L.O. ranks are equipped with Soviet weapons, "a tool of international Communism." Shukairy became personal. He accused the Jordan royal family of corruption, claimed that Hussein's brother Prince Mohammed operated an arms-import racket that provided Israelis with weapons. Shukairy's agents began whispering the word traitor against Hussein in Jordan's refugee camps. To a refugee population obsessed with a return to Palestine, such charges go over dangerously well.

Command Performance. When leaflets began to appear in Jordanian army barracks demanding Hussein's abdication, the King decided it was time to act. He alerted military units and ordered top intelligence operatives to cancel trips abroad. To woo the refugees, he offered them permanent settlement in Jordan and announced that Palestinians living abroad would no longer need visas to enter Jordan. Into Hussein's palace last week streamed delegations of Jordanian notables to pledge their loyalty to the crown. It was a command performance: some who did not show up have been arrested. There was no doubt about it; Hussein was in trouble. Everyone was watching the signals from Cairo. So far, Nasser had not publicly and personally come out against the plucky little King. If he should, the repercussions could shake Jordan's throne to the roots.

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