Lion of Jordan (102 page)

Hussein and Hassan spent a couple of hours on their own in the king's house in London. When the two brothers met, they fell into each other's arms. According to Sarvath, it was a most moving reunion, and the conversation was conducted in a completely cordial atmosphere. Hussein laughed and joked, but he also confided that he was still not at
all strong, that he hoped to stay longer in England, and that he wanted Hassan to stay in charge after he returned home. The question of the constitutional arrangements governing the succession was not even raised on this occasion. In the past Hussein had made various suggestions for change, notably the setting up of a family council, but Hassan had had his doubts. He was of the opinion that if the Pandora's Box of constitutional change was opened, there were many detractors of the Hashemite monarchy who might take the opportunity to make other, more serious moves. He therefore preferred to leave things open, and Hussein knew this. As the brothers were chatting, Queen Noor and Prince Abdullah arrived suddenly. It was evident that Hassan's arrival in London was unexpected and not wholly welcome. Hassan got up and said that perhaps he ought to be on his way. He got into his car and drove to the airport.
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The private meeting between Hussein and Hassan in London prompted a fresh round of press speculation. So did the meeting between Hussein and Prince Abdullah. Abdullah was already in London, and Hussein asked him through Majali to stay there for another day or two so they could meet and talk. Majali believes that it was at this meeting the king first intimated to his son that he had him in mind as his successor.
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Abdullah himself was not entirely certain, but he could tell that his father was very tense after the meeting with Prince Hassan. Abdullah said that he had to go back to Jordan because, as the commander of Special Operations, he was directly responsible for the security arrangements and for the motorcade on Hussein's return. Hussein was sorry that they did not get a chance for a serious talk. He made comments on some members of the family with whom he was displeased and added cryptically: ‘I have issues with these people that I want dealt with together with you when I get back.'
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Abdullah's account suggests that Hussein was planning to return home sooner than he told Hassan.

Hussein's unexpected meeting with Hassan in London remains something of a puzzle and reveals the evident complexity in Hussein's attitude towards his brother. On the one hand, Hussein conveyed confidence in his brother and even gratitude for sharing the burdens of kingship. He spoke of him to the prime minister, for his report to parliament, as
qurrat al-'ein
, ‘the apple of his eye', something precious and indispensable. On the other hand, the possibility of dropping Hassan was present in his mind, although he did not breathe a word about it. Was it kindness,
the emotion of reunion or calculated ruthlessness that led Hussein to dissemble so comprehensively with his brother? Could he just not bring himself to tell him the truth to his face and so thought it kinder to indulge him with talk of plans for the future that would never be realized? Was Hussein afraid that Hassan would take steps to forestall a change in the succession and therefore cunningly lulled him into a false sense of security? Was Hussein a ruthless dissembler and the master of the multiple agenda? Or had his illness so confused him by this point that he could not maintain a clear strategy? We shall probably never have a clear-cut answer to these questions.

A few days before his departure to Jordan, Hussein taped a televised address to announce his imminent arrival. The next day he became slightly feverish. A doctor from the Mayo Clinic who was travelling with them recommended that, at the last scheduled visit to St Bartholomew's Hospital, the king should be given not only the usual blood transfusion but also a bone-marrow tap. The suggestion had a depressing effect. ‘Hussein's spirits and demeanor plummeted,' Noor wrote in her journal. ‘He seemed to sink into himself with dread, especially after having publicly announced his arrival home.'
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The succession was constantly on her husband's mind. ‘One of the most burdensome tasks he had set for himself', she writes, ‘was to put the family and the country's future on a confident path. He had been thinking aloud about the subject for years, and naturally it became a paramount concern at Mayo. He wished that his brother, Crown Prince Hassan, had supported his idea for a Hashemite family council to recommend Hussein's successor on the basis of merit, a change that would have required an amendment to the Constitution, which at the time provided for the eldest son or, since 1965, a brother, to succeed the King.'
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On 19 January the royal party left England aboard a Jordanian Gulf-stream 4. On the way they were picked up by RAF, French and Italian fighter escorts. Despite his immense fatigue, Hussein piloted for the entire trip, with a break for lunch. In Amman a hero's welcome awaited him. He descended from the aircraft unaided, and on touching Jordanian soil knelt down and prayed. Noor was by his side and joined him in reciting the Muslim prayer known as the ‘Fatiha' to thank God for his safe return home. They were greeted by their relatives, courtiers and Arab VIPs waiting on the tarmac and then moved on to a hangar reception for government officials, the press and other guests. Adnan
Abu-Odeh, the long-time political adviser, was one of the officials waiting on the tarmac. He had been a communist in his youth, but his feelings towards his monarch verged on hero-worship – just one example of the deep affection and loyalty that Hussein inspired in so many of the people who worked for him. Abu-Odeh's description of the encounter on the tarmac is therefore worth quoting in full:

On arrival at the airport in Amman Hussein looked very frail. We were all instructed not to kiss him and not to talk to him because his body was so weak. We obeyed. But he held my hand. In November 1998 I had left a happy birthday message at his home in Washington. At Amman airport, he said, ‘Abu Sa'id, I am sorry I was not at home when you called on my birthday. How is Umm Sa'id and how are the kids?' I replied, ‘We are all well and thinking of you and hope you get better soon.' This was the sincere, the humane King Hussein, a man with the most wonderful manners. He was so kind, so considerate and so noble. He was dying and yet he was the one who was giving sympathy instead of being the one to receive sympathy. He was a great man. That was Hussein – sympathetic, truly sympathetic.
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The ride from the airport to the royal residence at Bab al-Salam was euphoric but foolhardy, given Hussein's frailty. Hundreds of thousands of people came out to greet their king in spite of the driving rain and wind. Hussein asked that the sun roof of the car be opened so that he could wave to the crowds that lined the streets. Noor tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant: if his people were going to stand in the bitter rain, so would he. Noor braced his legs inside the car to give him support. By the time they got home he was completely soaked, and Noor's orders made the nightly news:
‘Yella, Hamaam',
meaning ‘Time for a hot bath.'
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The next day Hussein gave an interview to Christiane Amanpour, who was covering his return home for CNN. She asked him about his plans, and he replied that he had always been a fatalist, that he always knew that there was a beginning and an end to life, and now he felt it more than at any time in the past. His concern, he said, was not for himself but for Jordan and its people, for its stability and progress. Amanpour asked whether this meant a change in the current plan for crown prince Hassan to be his successor. Hussein was evasive. He said that Hassan had done much good during the years spent by his side, but he also implied, in a very convoluted way, that Hassan was perhaps not
the most suitable member of their family to succeed him. ‘So, sir,' persisted Amanpour, ‘is that a yes or a no? Are you going to change the line of succession?' King Hussein: ‘I'm not prepared to say anything, so please don't commit me to anything whatsoever because I really haven't come up with anything – I have only thoughts and ideas, and I've always had to take the final decisions and, although this has been contested at times, it is my responsibility and I will come to it at an appropriate time.'
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Significantly, Hussein did not give any clues as to other possible candidates for the succession. He did not mention even indirectly any of his sons. He could have been thinking of either Abdullah or Hamzah, but he kept all his options open. Hassan was feeling less and less secure in his position as crown prince by the hour. He wanted to see his brother as soon as possible, but he was kept waiting either by his brother or by his brother's entourage for three days. On 21 January, Hassan sent a letter to his brother that, without saying so in so many words, sought confirmation of his position as heir-apparent. The letter was written in the flowery classical Arabic of which Hassan was a master and ended with the following words: ‘O father, brother, and friend, and venerable king, after having served as crown prince of your auspicious reign since my early youth and until now, which brought grey streaks to my hair, I find myself in this position, and I place myself in your hands and abide by your sublime and noble order.'
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Hassan was summoned to Bab al-Salam to see the king the following day, Friday, 22 January. Three days later a royal decree removed him from his position as crown prince. Most observers assumed this was the meeting at which the king informed Hassan for the first time of his decision to designate Abdullah as crown prince. This was not the case. A letter written by Hassan to Hussein three days after his dismissal is the only first-hand account we have of what actually transpired at the meeting. The letter describes Hassan's joy at Hussein's return to Jordan on 19 January, which was the second day of Eid al-Fitr, when the fast is broken at the end of Ramadan:

Subsequent to this joyous event, three days passed without us meeting. During that time, the media spoke of an impending decision by Your Majesty to relieve me from my responsibilities as Crown Prince, levelling all sorts of allegations and accusations against me, and attributing those allegations to both official and
unofficial sources. On Friday evening, 22nd January 1999, I had the honour of meeting with Your Majesty. It was a brotherly and frank conversation and I recollect mentioning the media reports to Your Majesty. Your Majesty directed me not to pay any attention to such news. I also asked Your Majesty what I should do with respect to my duties as Crown Prince. Your Majesty instructed that I should proceed with my duties as normal, reiterating your unwavering confidence and trust in my loyalty and faithfulness. In spite of that, I handed Your Majesty a letter in which I put myself at your disposal; a letter which you subsequently ordered published.

A few days later, on 25th January, Your Majesty's decree to relieve me from my duties as Crown Prince was announced. On that same evening, I received a Royal letter from Your Majesty.
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All the evasions and equivocations of the previous year had suddenly come to an end. Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh was summoned and informed of Hussein's decision to replace Hassan with Abdullah as crown prince. Hussein also showed the prime minister a draft of the letter he had written to Hassan. It was a brief and friendly letter, thanking Hassan for his services. Despite the devastating impact that the decision to replace him must have had, Hassan accepted it calmly and with good grace. He told the king that he was his humble servant and that he would abide by his decision. Hassan's options were: to try to foil the change in the succession; to go into exile in London; or to stay at home and maintain a dignified silence. From the very start he opted for the last. To stage a counter-coup went against his nature, and he never even considered it.
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Throughout the crisis, Hassan behaved in a calm, measured and statesmanlike manner. He even offered his help in smoothing over the process of transition. Both the king's ADC and the prime minister were impressed by the manner in which Hassan conducted himself following this cruel reversal in his fortunes.
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Eventually, after the meetings with Hassan and Tarawneh, Hussein called his son over. It was an emotional and poignant encounter, as Abdullah recalled:

My father wasn't looking very well and he said, ‘Look, for many reasons I have been wanting to say this for a while. What I want to say to you is all I am doing is rewriting, as opposed to writing, history. You were crown prince when you were born and I want you to become crown prince again. And there are two reasons.' I said, ‘Sidi, this is something that I have never wanted. I don't want this job.' He said, ‘That is one of the reasons why I want you to have it. The
other reason is because I know that out of all the members of the family you can keep the balance.' When I was a young child growing up, I was the eldest, so I treated everybody fairly and I looked after everybody. I had a good relationship with all my siblings and cousins. For him, that was very important.

I said, ‘What about Prince Hassan?' He said, ‘Look, I'm not doing well… I am going back.' I said, ‘And so what happens if something happens to you? If you want me to become crown prince, then I have got to make a decision on who is going to work with me.' It was very hard for him at that time and I said, ‘I guess what you are saying to me, Father, is that you don't think that you are going to make it.' And so there was a bit of silence there as we tried to come to grips with the reality of the situation that he was facing. And he said, ‘He is my brother and he is your uncle, so try to do the best you can.' He wasn't proud… he said, ‘You are my son. I have had a lot of faith all these years and I want you to step into these shoes.' But I kind of had a feeling that he wished that things had continued… I don't know if it is fair for me to say that I think it was a tremendous disappointment that his right-hand man for thirty-four years… It's his brother at the end of the day. And to make a decision that somebody who has been with you for so many years is not the man that you want.