Word: hussein
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Another coincidence complicated the retaliation possibilities. Assad had invited Jordan's King Hussein to meet with him in Damascus early this week, the first such get-together in six years. The two have been feuding since 1980, partly over the Camp David peace plan. Some Western diplomats believe that Hussein was willing to go to Damascus to try to preserve his role in the process, which has been stalled by Arafat's refusal to recognize Israel. By meeting with Assad, who has ties with anti-Arafat P.L.O. dissidents, Hussein may hope to prod Arafat into a compromise. Assad, however, seems...
...detours through the Syrian capital have just taken place. On Dec. 28, the warlords of Lebanon's feuding militias assembled in Damascus to sign a Syrian-brokered agreement designed to end almost eleven years of civil war. Last week Assad's image was burnished further when Jordan's King Hussein traveled to Syria for the first time in six years...
...times, twice alone. What was said during their seven hours of private discussions remains undisclosed. No joint communiqué was issued. Jordan's Prime Minister Zaid al Rifa'i revealed only that the talks had covered regional developments, Arab cooperation and bilateral relations. There were unconfirmed reports that Assad and Hussein had agreed to exchange ambassadors. But there were no hints that either man had yielded on two main points of contention: how to resolve the Palestinian question and how to end the gulf war, in which Jordan supports Iraq while Syria favors Iran...
Even so, last week's meeting between Assad and Hussein was a diplomatic breakthrough. Relations between Syria and Jordan have been stormy since 1980, when the two countries broke over Jordan's clandestine support of the anti-Assad Muslim Brotherhood. Hostilities continued until last August, when Hussein unexpectedly agreed to pursue a rapprochement. Subsequent talks between Jordanian and Syrian officials produced travel and trade accords, as well as agreements to reject bilateral negotiations with Israel and to back a U.N.-sponsored international peace conference...
...Hussein suddenly opened his arms to Assad remains a matter of speculation. Some analysts suggest that Hussein, perceiving only shaky support from the U.S. and moderate Arab regimes for his peace initiative, felt vulnerable standing alone on the high ground of Middle East politics. "The King is buying himself a little insurance," explained one U.S. State Department official. Others believe that Hussein plans to use his improved relations with Assad to put pressure on Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose refusal to endorse U.N. resolutions stating Israel's right to exist has stalled the King's peace...