Hussein’s hesitation

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32407, 21 September 1970, Page 15

Hussein’s hesitation

(By

HARRY A. DUNPHY,

of the Associated Press, through N.Z.P.A.)

BEIRUT, Sept. 19. A brassiere flew from a tank antenna one day as King Hussein rolled up to inspect the fiercelyproud Bedouin troops in his Arab legion, backbone of the Jordanian Army. When the King asked why, he told a reporter later, the officer answered: “Because we are women.” The reply must have stung the monarch who has ruled his desert kingdom for half of his 34 years. The Army had been urging him to act against Palestinian guerrillas as a disruptive force in Jordan. King Hussein hesitated, and with reason. More than half his population is Palestinian, and guerrilla exploits against Israel gave these people a psychological lift. A sort of refugee mentality had developed after 22 years in the squalid camps that dot the kingdom. As far as the Palestinian refugees were concerned, the guerrillas could do. no wrong. ARAB BROTHERS This week the action came and King Hussein, in heavilyguarded Basman Palace on one of Amman’s seven hills, could only view this "as bloodshed between Arab I brothers.” He also deplored—as “the . shame of the Arab world”— :|the guerrilla hijacking of i four international airliners

last week. That exploit probably proved the last straw in King Hussein’s efforts to appease the Palestinians. To prevent the ultimate clash which has been building up for two years, one report has it;- King Hussein decided to abdicate, but was talked out of it by President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. Similar reports appeared after the fighting in June between the Army and the commandos.

King Hussein told a news conference: “I am not the kind of person who will quit. This mission is part of me and I am part of it. I will see it through to the end.” Assassination attempts this year brought this end perilously close. But King Hussein expressed no fear. "At any moment, death can claim the body,” he has said. “And when it does, death itself is unimportant. The only thing that matters is the work one has accomplished.” Because he repeatedly risks death—whether by assasination, piloting fighter planes or driving racing cars —he draws widespread admiration from many subjects. TWO ASSASSINATIONS

King Hussein’s grandfather, King Abdullah, was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1951. King Hussein was 15 then, and only a medal on his chest prevented a bullet from hitting him. His young cousin, King Feisal 11, was assassinated in Iraq in 1958. Before this year’s ambushes on his motorcade.

there were attempts to kill King Hussein with bullets, bombs, poison and acid in his nose drops—all unsuccessful. "I often feel like a character in a detective novel," he once said.

King Hussein’s wife, Princess Muna, the daughter of a British Army officer, is weaty of the constant danger. Palace gossips say that she would like him to abdicate and live in Europe with their four children. She has spent several months with them in London this year. King Hussein traces his line back to the Prophet Mohammed, and 37 generations of his family have ruled Mecca, the Moslem holy city He was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst in England. “MOVIE STAR AURA” Although only sft 4in, he is solidly built and his moustache, dark eyes and soft voice, give him the aura of a movie star. He is as equally at home in a Savile Row suit or a chequered Arab headdress, but wears his military uniform and red paratrooper’s beret most of the time. The 1967 war and crises with the Palestinians have not left him miich time for water ski-ing, sky-diving and motor racing. He has found a few hours to spend as a ham radio operator. He is usually at the plane’s controls when he takes off for Arab summit meetings or trips to Cairo. "The moment I climb into a cockpit I shake off all my problems and worries,” he wrote in his autobiography.