Critics react to US-Jordan defense agreement
The Jordanian government bypassed parliament and approved a controversial agreement signed between Jordan and the United States that regulates the status of US forces present in the kingdom, which raised much controversy.
On Jan. 31, Jordan and the United States signed a defense cooperation agreement. It was approved by the Jordanian government Feb. 17, and a royal decree approving the agreement was published March 16 in the Official Gazette, effective immediately, without being presented before the parliament, or National Assembly, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Jordanians were shocked that such an agreement had been approved only a few days after the US State Department and the US Embassy in Jordan issued a level 3 alert March 10, warning US citizens against traveling to several locations in the kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangers of what it called “terrorism and crime.”
