Word: naif
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...later Edward VII. The Kingdom of Jordan boasts no such newsy poet as Britain's Laureate Austin, but last week Jordan's King Talal took to the wires to make his own attempt to chronicle the state of his health. In Beirut, Talal's younger brother Naif received three telegrams. The first read: "Expect you in our legation in Rome as soon as possible. Talal." The second read: "Meet at once at the Beau-Rivage Hotel, Lausanne. Talal." The third read: "Forget my telegrams, no need to come." They all added up to the fact that poor...
...never had a chance: he lacked his father's guile and dynamism. When he ordered the Arab Legion to retaliate against punitive Israeli attacks, he found that he could not even command his army. John Glubb Pasha, the British commander, countermanded his order. Talal's brother, Prince Naif, is living in neighboring Beirut, and plotting with dissident Jordanians to take the throne. Iraq, ruled by the Hashemite family to which Talal belongs, also has designs on his kingdom...
...Prince Naif of Jordan...
...Jordan's premier, Tewfik Pasha, quickly squashed the plot. The British quietly decided that Talal ought to take over from Naif. In betting on Talal, London took a calculated risk. Talal has been violently anti-British. In one of his fits of temper, he reportedly slapped the respected face of Glubb Pasha, British head of the Legion. Said he once: "If I am insane, it is with a hatred of the British...
...British know that Talal is popular in the Arab world, that they would run into trouble if they tried to deny him Jordan's throne in favor of Naif. There are other signs that Talal, for his part, realizes he must have the British: without their subsidy and support, tiny, barren Jordan would become a fifth-rate country, easy prey for a powerful neighbor. The London Observer reported that Talal had recently signed a document assuring Britain that he would carry on his father's policies. When his plane stopped in Athens on the way from Switzerland, Talal...