It’s our fault, as usual

It seems that the Lebanese wounded are refusing treatment at the field hospitals set up by the Jordanian military for them. Apparently, they are blaming Jordan for not doing enough to stop the Israeli attack against them.

Now, King Abdullah has called repeatedly for stopping the aggression against Lebanon (a strong term that caught the attention of Israeli and western media). I am not sure what is required, but I do understand the attitude.

Arabs have a fixation for blaming Jordan for all their problems. The Sunnis in Iraq blame us for supporting the current government; the Shiites blame us for supporting Saddam (and for Zarqawi being Jordanian). The Kuwaitis blame us for supporting Saddam and the Syrians and the Palestinians blame us for a host of ills ranging from losing the 1967 war (which the Syrians and the Egyptians lost too, by the way) through to making peace with Israel, along with dozens of perceived wrongs that are mostly illogical and self contradictory.

But the Lebanese? Why would they be mad at us? We didn’t set up and support militias during the civil war there as the Israelis, Syrians, Iraqis and the Iranians did. According to the report, the Lebanese asked said that "They cannot give the green light for this strike against us and then show up to treat us. We don't want their sweetness or their bitterness." We gave the green light? Is this about the joint statement where King Abdullah and President Mubarak blamed Hezbollah (not by name) for the adventurism that led to this situation?

Well, I know that this might sound cold, but they were right. The Lebanese government failed miserably at controlling the situation in the south and in extending their control over the area. There are many adventurers who would like nothing better than to drag Jordan through the same ordeal that Lebanon is going through. The Jordanian government paid a heavy political price to stop militant activities in Jordan. The Lebanese government refused to pay such a price. This is their fault, not ours.

So, Arabs can blame us for all their problems if they like. It is probably comforting to have a universal, all purpose bad guy on which you can pin all your failures. Unfortunately, this silly blame game will actually do nothing to solve real problems created by superstition, adventurism, sloganeering, and poor planning and management. When they get their act together, then Jordan's role as a whipping boy might end.

In the mean time, since the Lebanese don’t want our medical services, we should bring the medical teams back and extend the resources to our own sick people. Jordan University hospital is being threatened to have its supply of pharmaceuticals cut off because they haven’t been able to pay their bills. There are plenty of patients here who could use the help.