Terrorist Bombings in Jordan!!

[ISiddiqui]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/09/jordan.blasts/index.html


AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Three nearly simultaneous explosions occurred Wednesday night at hotels frequented by westerners in downtown Amman, killing at least 67 people and wounding more than 100 others, the deputy prime minister of Jordan said.

There have been no claims of responsibility, Karim Kawar, the Jordanian ambassador to the United States, told CNN.

The blasts occurred at the Radisson, the Days Inn Hotel and the Grand Hyatt Hotel between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. (2 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET). The three hotels are within a few hundred yards of each other.

Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher said the largest blast occurred at the Radisson during a wedding celebration, set off by a suicide bomber wearing a belt packed with explosives. Most of the casualties there were Jordanian, he said. (Watch eyewitness describes the scene -- 2:46 (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2005/11/09/sot.jordan.blast.witness.affl');))

The blast at the Grand Hyatt also appeared to have been caused by a bomber wearing an explosive belt, he said.

The Days Inn blast occurred when a car failed in an attempt to breach a security barrier and exploded outside the hotel, he said.

"This has come as a shock to all of us," Kawar told CNN. He added, "We try to be as vigilant as possible but, at the end of the day, we're all vulnerable to such attacks."

In a written statement, the Hyatt said its management team is "working to assure the safety and relocation of guests," given that authorities had evacuated the hotel.

Dozens of ambulances were lined outside the hotels, loading up and speeding off, their sirens wailing.

The hotels were evacuated and security officials set up cordons around them.

At Khalidi Hospital, near the affected zone, Dr. Khalid Salayman said five people had died there and 12 were wounded, 10 of them lightly.

Among the casualties were Iraqis and Germans, he said.

American Dana Burde said she was in the lobby of the Radisson when the blast there occurred -- apparently inside a nearby banquet hall, where a wedding party was celebrating.

"We were sort of blown out of the room, but our group is all fine," she said.

"There was a lot of debris and, certainly, there were people killed," said Burde, a New Yorker who is in Amman attending a conference on refugee education.

She said she heard an explosion at the nearby Hyatt five minutes after the blast at the Radisson.

King condemns attacks

An Italian businessman who was in the Hyatt said he saw three apparently lifeless bodies there.

Jordanian Embassy officials in Washington said the blasts came without warning and that no Jordanian government officials were in any of the buildings.

Prime Minister Adnan Badran told Jordanian television that all government offices and schools would be closed Thursday.

Soon after the attacks, Jordanian King Abdullah condemned them, telling reporters, "Justice will pursue the criminals."

The king also vowed that Jordan "will be resilient," Kawar said. An emergency Cabinet meeting was called.

Prior to the millennium celebrations, the Radisson was the target of a plot that was broken up by Jordanian law enforcement.

Jordan helps train Iraqi troops and is host to the headquarters of many international aid agencies that pulled relief workers out of Iraq as the insurgency there deepened.

It also is the homeland of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq and that country's most-wanted terrorist.

In August an al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for rocket attacks that targeted but missed two U.S. warships in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba.

In that attack, two rockets struck a warehouse and a hospital in Aqaba, killing a Jordanian soldier, while a third struck the nearby Israeli port city of Eilat.

U.S. offers help

Jordanian authorities said the attackers were in contact with insurgent leaders in Iraq, who were kept informed of their progress.

In Amman, U.S. Embassy spokesman Michael Pelletier told CNN that personnel have been called to the embassy for urgent meetings.

"Right now, we're trying to get whatever information we can to get the details of what's going on," he said. U.S. officials had no details on the number of casualties or whether Americans might be among them, he said.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said the administration knew of no U.S. casualties .The State Department, which had not recently issued travel warnings for Americans visiting Jordan, offered to help Jordanians investigate the bombings.

The United States has proposed sending a team of FBI agents to help determine details of the attacks, such as what type of explosives were used.

Asked who is suspected of masterminding the attacks, one State Department official cited al-Zarqawi.

Two U.S. intelligence officials concurred that the attacks bear the hallmarks of al-Zarqawi, who has expressed an interest in launching attacks outside Iraq.

CNN's Hala Gorani contributed to this report.
:( :( :(

[Solecismic]

I hope acts like these erode support among the Muslim population for these militants. It's the only way this will ever stop. Jordan has come a long way, perhaps too long for everyone's liking.

[pennywisesb]

I hope acts like these erode support among the Muslim population for these militants. It's the only way this will ever stop. Jordan has come a long way, perhaps too long for everyone's liking.

I agree completely.

On a personal note, these stories make me sick to my stomach. At least 67 innocent lives taken, along with at least 100 lives changed because of what?! And that doesn't even take into account the families, friends, etc that something like this effects as well.

[SackAttack]

An Italian businessman who was in the Hyatt said he saw three apparently lifeless bodies there.

"Apparently" lifeless? Bombs go off, he sees bodies of people who are certainly injured, and may be dead, but he can't take the time to verify whether they are, in fact, dead?

[dawgfan]

I hope acts like these erode support among the Muslim population for these militants. It's the only way this will ever stop. Jordan has come a long way, perhaps too long for everyone's liking.

Bingo. Jordan is too "Westernized" for the tastes of the fundamentalist extremist Muslims so it makes a natural target. With any luck, these more moderate Middle Eastern states will be galvanized by this shit and work even harder to make a stand against the extremists.

[st.cronin]

Bingo. Jordan is too "Westernized" for the tastes of the fundamentalist extremist Muslims so it makes a natural target. With any luck, these more moderate Middle Eastern states will be galvanized by this shit and work even harder to make a stand against the extremists.

That would be fantastic.

[ISiddiqui]

"Apparently" lifeless? Bombs go off, he sees bodies of people who are certainly injured, and may be dead, but he can't take the time to verify whether they are, in fact, dead?Well, the area may have been cordoned off already by relief agencies. We don't know in what context he saw them.

[Izulde]

That's got to be one sucky way to start your marriage.

[Vegas Vic]

With any luck, these more moderate Middle Eastern states will be galvanized by this shit and work even harder to make a stand against the extremists.

You guys don't understand that the majority of average citizens in "moderate" Middle Eastern states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are sympathetic with Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida. They have no loyalty or allegiance to the Saudi royal family or King Abdullah, and they despise the United States.

The governments of those countries are hanging on by the skin of their teeth right now, and while their monarch governments appear to be cooperating with the U.S in the war on terrorism, they face the bigger problem of being overthrown by their general population.

[dawgfan]

You guys don't understand that the majority of average citizens in "moderate" Middle Eastern states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are sympathetic with Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida. They have no loyalty or allegiance to the Saudi royal family or King Abdullah, and they despise the United States.

The governments of those countries are hanging on by the skin of their teeth right now, and while their monarch governments appear to be cooperating with the U.S in the war on terrorism, they face the bigger problem of being overthrown by their general population.

That may be true of Saudi Arabia, but I don't think it's true of Jordan. They have a pretty good thing going in terms of trade with the West, and of all the Middle Eastern Muslim states Jordan is the most West-friendly. Jordan doesn't have nearly the repressive regime that Saudi Arabia does, and the citizens of Jordan reap the benefits of the ties with the West unlike those of Saudi Arabia who see most of the oil money going into the royal pockets.

[Glengoyne]

You guys don't understand that the majority of average citizens in "moderate" Middle Eastern states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are sympathetic with Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida. They have no loyalty or allegiance to the Saudi royal family or King Abdullah, and they despise the United States.

The governments of those countries are hanging on by the skin of their teeth right now, and while their monarch governments appear to be cooperating with the U.S in the war on terrorism, they face the bigger problem of being overthrown by their general population.


I really hope that isn't the case. I do believe that those governments foster hatred of Western Civilization and Israel to give their populace something to blame their woes on. If they had no one else to hate, they might turn on their own ruling class. That said, I hope the average citizen in these more moderate states isn't backing the Islamic extremists. If that is the case....It reminds me of this thing I once read on a message board prior to the Iraq war.


To deal with Iraq...We take a big ass cruise ship...load all the best and the brightest that the country has to offer, and sail it out into the ocean. Then raze the country, wipe out all of the trouble makers. That will make the country worthwhile again. Once that is done, go back and sink that ship.
It was written by a trollish ass. but, somehow the sheer inappropriateness struck me as funny as hell. I'm not sure why I'm posting this now in this thread, but somehow if the average middle eastern citizen is really that much of an extremist, a "nuke the site from orbit, its the only way to be sure" suggestion somehow doesn't seem all that out of line.

Note to all: I'm in no way calling for or suggesting an all out war or destruction of the middle east. I'm just frustrated and rambling.

[Vegas Vic]

That may be true of Saudi Arabia, but I don't think it's true of Jordan. They have a pretty good thing going in terms of trade with the West, and of all the Middle Eastern Muslim states Jordan is the most West-friendly.

Don't kid yourself. There is a very pronounced class system in Jordan, and while the top of the pyramid (the people who were killed in the hotels) are somewhat cordial toward the U.S., the vast majority of the citizens there despise us.

[Wolfpack]

That would be because the majority of the populace in Jordan is not actually Jordanian, but Palestinians, who hate all things Israeli and American.s

[Dutch]

Yeah the closer you get to Mecca and Medina, the better off the people "get" what the Prayer Calls are talking about 5 times a day. (Most of it's anti-US rhetoric that is piped throughout city streets)

Here is a political party ad in Turkey trying to gain votes in Adana (where Incirlik Air Base is located, near the Syrian border and solidly in the "Muslim" sphere of influence vs. the Turkish or western sphere's of influence).

http://www.explodinghouse.net/photos/turkey/Incirlik/turk-incirlik10.jpg
"AMERICAN MILITARY - NO" it proclaims

It's very, very easy to gain favor in the Muslim world by just blaming the USA (as the "frontman" of the western world). Since Turkey has a lot of political parties that merge and form alliances, I really have no idea how popular this particular party slogan was. In contrast, in the western mixed cities of Istanbul and Ankara, I never saw one of these banner ads posted on the walls that even mentioned the USA (and there are plenty of party ads in those two cities).

But anyway, if it's that easy to use that as your slogan in Turkey (A thousand miles from Mecca), I'm sure it's magical when used by a government with no opposition that shares the state media with the clerics.

Make no mistake, the opposition in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere prefer Islamic Fundamentalism over Monarchy...and the real driving force behind the hate for western culture is not the monarchy, but the clerics of the fundamentalist movement. The weak ruling governments (who aren't there on behalf of the people either), have no choice but to agree, or the ensuing coup(s) would not be bloodless.

[Vegas Vic]

"Wednesday's deadly explosions in Amman, Jordan, drew swift condemnation from Washington."

Whew. That's reassuring.

[Wolfpack]

As opposed to carpet bombings and cruise missiles? You were expecting something else? :)

[Vegas Vic]

As opposed to carpet bombings and cruise missiles? You were expecting something else? :)

No, I expected to hear condemnation from the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and a few European countries. That's about it. I expect total silence from the Middle East.

[NoMyths]

On a personal note, these stories make me sick to my stomach. At least 67 innocent lives taken, along with at least 100 lives changed because of what?! And that doesn't even take into account the families, friends, etc that something like this effects as well.
The Diameter of the Bomb

The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters
and the diameter of its effective range about seven meters,
with four dead and eleven wounded.
And around these, in a larger circle
of pain and time, two hospitals are scattered
and one graveyard. But the young woman
who was buried in the city she came from,
at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers,
enlarges the circle considerably,
and the solitary man mourning her death
at the distant shores of a country far across the sea
includes the entire world in its circle.
And I won't even mention the howl of orphans
that reaches up to the throne of God and
beyond, making
a circle with no end and no God.


--Yehuda Amichai

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah the closer you get to Mecca and Medina, the better off the people "get" what the Prayer Calls are talking about 5 times a day. (Most of it's anti-US rhetoric that is piped throughout city streets)WTF? http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif

Do you actually know what the Prayer Calls actually say (btw, they don't change them every day or year so they can add anti-US slogans in these calls which have stayed the same for centuries) or are you just pulling things out of your ass?

[Dutch]

WTF? http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif

Do you actually know what the Prayer Calls actually say (btw, they don't change them every day or year so they can add anti-US slogans in these calls which have stayed the same for centuries) or are you just pulling things out of your ass?

The LINK network.

I watched a piece a few months back by an Al-Jazeera reporter who was doing a documentary on the US presence in Qatar. It showed how the reporter gathered video footage and audio footage for an airing on Al-Jazeera.

Some of the highlights of the footage was being taken on a tour by US military PR troop around a military complex. The reporter was shown were the troops live, eat, work, and showed the reporter where he was not allowed access (a classified work area).

The reporter then drove through the main streets of Qatar and filmed and recorded the audio from the call to prayer which was a live person. The subtitles were talking about the American aggressions in Iraq and the Jewish zionist instigators.

Then, at the end, they showed the final product. Which showed the reporter driving around listening to the call to prayer (and the subtitles were something along the lines of how you cannot trust America. Then a transition that showed the reporter asking in the military base "And that?" pointing to the classified zone to which the PR guys says, "I can't show you that." and that's it from the American perspective.

Very effective.

It was pretty interesting how it was all put together. But that is the only insight I have ever had into what they say.

[ISiddiqui]

The reporter then drove through the main streets of Qatar and filmed and recorded the audio from the call to prayer which was a live person. The subtitles were talking about the American aggressions in Iraq and the Jewish zionist instigators.
You've been bamboozled. The call to prayer is very simple and has been the same for centuries. It includes nothing about Jews or Americans. If it did, it would go on for more than 1-5 minutes (depending on how long the guy streaches out each individual word in the call).

[Klinglerware]

http://www.explodinghouse.net/photos/turkey/Incirlik/turk-incirlik10.jpg
"AMERICAN MILITARY - NO" it proclaims



Yeah, it's a political poster that is anti-US military presence, though I'm not sure if there is a religious motivation behind it. This isn't so different from the anti-American military sloganeering you saw in Western Europe when NATO wanted to base cruise missles in West Germany. The criticisms may be unfair, the fears unfounded, but that's political camapaigning for ya...

That is also, of course, the double-edged sword of democracy--democracy doesn't imply shared values or one-mindedness in policy preferences between the US and the other democracy. It does mean that the other government is more accountable to "the people" (who may not share our policy preferences) than to us.

[JonInMiddleGA]

You've been bamboozled. The call to prayer is very simple and has been the same for centuries.

Perhaps there is some confusion about the difference between "the call to prayer" and other things that go out across the loudspeakers?

That seems possible in light of this bit from a reporters blog
Most prayers are neutral. They encourage Muslims to be faithful.

But some imams announce anti-American rhetoric over their loudspeakers. They call the U.S. soldiers infidels and occupiers. And they urge fellow Muslims to fight them.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/guard/entries/2005/10/27/praying_for_a_f.html

[Shkspr]

Hmmm...on one hand you've got "ISiddiqui", whose screen name certainly sounds like he might have some sort of Middle Eastern background that would cause him to know what the call to prayer sounds like. On the other hand, you've got Vegas Vic, who I'm almost certain has been to the Luxor hotel, backed up by the ubiquitous JiMG, whose link was certainly damning and incriminating - except for the part where his blogger, you know, made claims of anti-American sentiment in the call to prayer and then chose to buttress his claims with a sound clip that apparently does NOT contain anti-American sentiments.

It's a toughie.

[JonInMiddleGA]

except for the part where his blogger, you know, made claims of anti-American sentiment in the call to prayer and then chose to buttress his claims with a sound clip that apparently does NOT contain anti-American sentiments.

Definitely not "my blogger", that's the format the Atlanta Journal-Constitution uses to file an increasing amount of their online content (trying to make themselves seem "hip" I think).

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, "Trust in God, Believe in God" is not anti-American ;). I wonder what the guy is talking about. Perhaps there are other loudspeakered anti-American statements elsewhere? It's not part of the call to prayer though.

Oh, and I'm not Middle Eastern descent. Indian Subcontinent descent... my parents were from Pakistan.

[Honolulu_Blue]

You guys don't understand that the majority of average citizens in "moderate" Middle Eastern states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are sympathetic with Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida.
Based on the reaction in Jordan today, this statement appears to be profoundly wrong.

[Wolfpack]

Hmmm...now that I think about it, Jordan isn't usually targeted for these sorts of massive attack bombings. Egypt, sure. Saudi Arabia, sure. Iraq, most definitely. Jordan? When was the last time they suffered one of these? That may explain some of the reaction. Could also be that despite targeting Westerners, the bombers took out too many natives instead.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Could also be that despite targeting Westerners, the bombers took out too many natives instead.
Could also be that people in Jordan just aren't too fond of terrorists setting off bombs in their country. Call me crazy, but that'd be enough to piss me off.

[JW]

Ironically, two dozen of the dead are Palestinian. Perhaps this will cause some people to see the true nature of indiscriminate terror. Excerpt from an AP story:

Significantly, the victims also included some two dozen Palestinians with roots in the West Bank. Among them were the West Bank's intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Bashir Nafeh, a diplomat and a prominent banker. Many Jordanians and Palestinians have supported the Iraqi insurgency, but the hotel bombings could tip Arab sentiment against al-Zarqawi.

In the West Bank village of Silet al-Thaher, members of the Akhras family mourned 13 of their relatives killed during a wedding party at the Radisson.

"Oh my God, oh my God. Is it possible that Arabs are killing Arabs, Muslims killing Muslims? For what did they do that?" screamed 35-year-old Najah Akhras, who lost two nieces in the attack. Similar thoughts were heard over and over throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip

[Coffee Warlord]

"Oh my God, oh my God. Is it possible that Arabs are killing Arabs, Muslims killing Muslims?

You know, the guy did suffer a terrible loss, and is prolly not thinking too clearly but c'mon...DUH!?!! Where the hell has this guy been for the last...ever?

[Dutch]

You've been bamboozled. The call to prayer is very simple and has been the same for centuries. It includes nothing about Jews or Americans. If it did, it would go on for more than 1-5 minutes (depending on how long the guy streaches out each individual word in the call).

Well, it was a propaganda piece, so it's entirely possible.

[Dutch]

Perhaps there is some confusion about the difference between "the call to prayer" and other things that go out across the loudspeakers?

That seems possible in light of this bit from a reporters blog
Most prayers are neutral. They encourage Muslims to be faithful.

But some imams announce anti-American rhetoric over their loudspeakers. They call the U.S. soldiers infidels and occupiers. And they urge fellow Muslims to fight them.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/guard/entries/2005/10/27/praying_for_a_f.html

Or maybe it was real. Who knows.

[Dutch]

Finally. Somebody in the Middle East is protesting against Al Qaeda. Sorry, but welcome to the party.

Angry Jordanians Rally to Protest Bombings
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/jordan_explosion
By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer

AMMAN, Jordan - Thousands of Jordanians rallied in the capital and other cities shouting "Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" a day after three deadly hotel bombings that killed at least 59 people. Officials suspected Iraqi involvement in the attacks, which were claimed by al-Qaida's Iraq branch.

As protesters in Jordan and elsewhere in the Arab world denounced the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, security forces snared a group of Iraqis for questioning and officials said one of the bombers spoke Iraqi-accented Arabic before he exploded his suicide belt in the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The main demonstration in Amman lasted for more than an hour. But honking vehicles, decorated with Jordanian flags and posters of King Abdullah II, cruised Amman's streets until late in the night, as passengers chanted "Death to al-Zarqawi, the villain and the traitor!" and anti-terrorism slogans.

[st.cronin]

Finally. Somebody in the Middle East is protesting against Al Qaeda. Sorry, but welcome to the party.

I'm almost positive this is the first instance of this I've heard of; it's quite heartening.

[Wolfpack]

I think there have been occasional protests in Iraq, but that's about the extent of it. Anything else in that part of the world that might have been done was likely at the "behest" of the ruling government to put on a song-and-dance for the Western news media.

[weinstein7]

Hmmm...now that I think about it, Jordan isn't usually targeted for these sorts of massive attack bombings. Egypt, sure. Saudi Arabia, sure. Iraq, most definitely. Jordan? When was the last time they suffered one of these? That may explain some of the reaction. Could also be that despite targeting Westerners, the bombers took out too many natives instead.

Is it that Jordan is not targeted, or rather that Jordan has been fairly successful at foiling attempts? Some of each, I suspect...