Very informative book about Jordan, the Middle East and Israel. Honestly told by the American lawyer for king Hussein of Jordan. This book filled in a lot of blanks in my knowledge of the Middle East,Israel and the MANY mistakes numerous American presidents made trying to “fix” the issues.
The last chapter is very inspirational. Most Americans don’t understand the Middle East. Supporting the Middle East, not Israel does not make you a holocaust denier. Israel is breaking the law with aid from the United States political egos serving self interests.
I think reading this would be difficult but audio was captivating and an eye opener. 290 مذكرات مدير محطة الاستخبارات المركزية الأمريكية في الأردن ومحامي الأردن في الولايات المتحدة لما يزيد عن 25 عاما بعدها.
الكتاب أقل من المتوقع من ناحية المعلومات التي يقدمها شخص شغل المواقع التي شغلها الكاتب.
لهجة الكاتب الحادة جدا تجاه اسرائيل ملاحظة جدا. 290 One of my part time jobs is working as an audiobook proofer. I’ve been proofing audiobooks for a little over 6 months, and for the most part, it has been a series of marginally interesting but not quite captivating science fiction or western narratives, with the occasional bland non-fiction book. King’s Counsel is the first book that I’ve proofed where I was absolutely sucked in.
I studied abroad in Amman, Jordan during college, and visited the country several times as well. I wish that I had read this book before living in Amman (no fault of my own, it was only published in 2011). I don’t know if it would have made me love Amman any more (I’m not a huge fan of the place) or if it really changed my feelings about Jordan at all. But I do think that I gained a historical appreciation for Jordan and for King Hussein that several Middle East history classes I took in college didn’t give me (I wonder if that is because I didn’t listen, or they didn’t teach me about it? They were all classes spanning a dozen countries and hundreds if not thousands of years, though. How can you understand modern Middle Eastern political maneuvering that way? An inch deep and a mile wide, just one of many undergrad problems). For one thing, I never realized how big of a deal it was to loose the West Bank. I’d always considered the West Bank of interest to the Israelis and the Palestinians, and though I knew Jordan had the West Bank up until 1967, it never occurred to me that they ever wanted it back. That is glossed over in our backwards glance to the 6 Days War. But for several years thereafter, it was something that the Jordanians were trying to negotiate and regain control. Return of the West Bank was even stipulated as part of Resolution 242, which I knew, but again never really considered the implications. But we don’t live in that world anymore, where Jordan wants the West Bank, and so it was interesting to go back in time, if you will, and see the aftermath of the 1967 war from the Jordanian perspective.
BTW, Jack O’Connell and his co-author are not great writers. The writing is Spartan and wholly functional, with no thought given to form. I am fine with this, but if this isn’t a topic that you already enjoy, you will not be able to get through it, mostly likely. However, I see this as a natural style for someone who worked as a CIA operative and lawyer for decades. The book is almost legal in its declarations of fact and event, and when O’Connell injects personal anecdotes and opinion into the narrative, as he does often, it is completely straight storytelling, with little detectable embellishment or overreaching. This led me to take much of the narration at face value, though O’Connell no doubt has biases that run deep. But so what? He had decades of experience in the Middle East. He might have biases, but they are informed biases, and he deserves to be part of the conversation. In fact, I think that for all his biases, O’Connell presents a very evenhanded, nuanced account. He fully describes many of King Hussein’s failings as he praises his character and leadership. If you are concerned with bias creep in his recounting of the last 40 years of 20th century Arab-Israeli politics, don’t toss the book out. I recommend instead picking up a book that is of equal informed biases, but for the “other side.” This is the only way towards nuance, and this is the only way towards peace.
That’s right, peace. That’s the cue for it’s time to get preachy.
Because though his book is about the King of Jordan, it is largely a book about Jordan and Israel and Middle Eastern peace. King Hussein was a king who continually sought peace in one of the world’s most conflicted areas. He made a lot of mistakes—the book does not gloss over these mistakes, like his alliance with Nasser and putting the Jordanian military under his control right before the 6 Days War, or Hussein’s tendency to be swayed by the opinion of other Arab leaders, even at the risk of his own country’s interests, nor do I totally buy O’Connell’s attempt to wave away the money given to King Hussein by the US Government and CIA as a non-issue. But when there were tough negotiations, Hussein was there. When there were problems, he put forth solutions, and when there was a chance for compromise, he took it. These are indications of someone who really believes in peace. There are other parties at work here who stall, blame, and play games to maximize their own returns. These are people not interested in peace, and this book (though, again, with some bias. A little! It’s a memoir for crying out loud, not a textbook, I expect this) points to many within Israel, the US, the UN, and Palestinian factions as contributing to the problem.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know why, if every US president since Jimmy Carter has promised peace between Israel and Palestine and the other Arab states, why we still don’t have it. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the US role in Middle East politics, and to anyone fascinated by a modern monarchy like the Hashemite royal family.
290 Very good book based on the author's relationship with King Hussein and his role in the CIA. His insight on everything from the wars with Israel to the the Iraq wars was very interesting. 290 قرأت هذا الكتاب #مستشار_الملك على أمل الإطلاع على تفاصيل حقبة بداية تشكيلة الدولة وكيف كانت العثرات تتوالى.
الكاتب رئيس شعبة الـ CIA في المملكة وبعدها أصبح محامِ للأردن ولم يخفي ولاءه للملك أبدا.
فبدأ الكاتب كيف التقى بالملك وكيف نجح في كسب ثقته بعد كشفه مخططا للإنقلاب عليه من قبل 22 ضابط في الجيش الأردني وكيف تعامل مع هذا الموضوع وكيف أن الملك حسين رحمه الله كان مطلعاً عن طريق الرجل الثالث والعشرون.
ما يثير الدهشة هُنا كيفية صفح الملك عنهم وكيف عادوا إلى عملهم.
ثم يذهب بنا إلى حقبة الحرب مع العدو الإسرائيلي وكيف عمل الملك في جهة وكيف خانه العرب (مصر، سوريا، منظمة التحرير) من جهة أخرى.
يتحدث عن كيف الملك حسين رحمه الله حاول تشكيل وحدة مع ياسر عرفات وجمال عبدالناصر ولكنهم حاولوا الإطاحة به أكثر من مره.
(لقد شهد الأردنيون على حركة أيلول الأسود وعلى أفعال عرفات).
ويتحدث أيضاً عن عدم ثقة جمال عبدالناصر حين أخبره عن الحرب التي خسرها، في حين تم اتهام الملك بأنه سرب الخطة لليهود ولكن العكس ما حدث.
لقد كان الملك قريبا جدا من إيجاد حل لكن منظمة التحرير التي فوضها الكثير بأن تكون الممثل الوحيد للفلسطينيين كانت قد أعاقت كل ذلك.
ويتحدث عن مدى ثقة الملك بالعشائر وعن كيفية دعمهم للملك والجيش وكيف استعان بهم أبان أعمال الشغب في 1989 وكيف كان الريف قلبا وقالبا مع الملك وما زال.
وعن آثار حرب الكويت الذي عانى منها الأردن أكثر من غيره بسبب دعمه لصدام حسين.
وتحدث عن صدام حسين وعن أن تجار الحروب هم من حشدوا للحرب وأنه كان بالإمكان تجنبها ولكن الكثير كان يسير بإتجاه خاطئ.
وعن أحداث 11 من سبتمبر بأن الأمريكان صنعوا أعداءا لأنفسهم باضطهادهم للمسلمين وكيف كانوا عدائيين تجاههم.
وقد خصص عدة صفحات للجلبي صاحب بنك البتراء ودوره في إسقاط نظام صدام حسين حيث كان يجمع الثروه من ذلك.
يتقدم بنصح للأردنيين بأن هناك 3 طرق للتعامل مع الإسرائيلين، ألا وهي : عسكرياً وأننا لسنا قادرون عليه ودبلوماسيا ونحن لسنا جيدون في هذا المجال وقانونياً لأن القانون في جانبنا.
لقد نجا الأردن من الكثير من المحن والحوادث ولقد بُني من لا شيء تقريباً، لقد عانى الأردن كثيرا لكنه نجا رغم كل شيء.
الكثير من المغالطات التي ما زال يحملها البعض من المعارضين تجاه الملك الراحل الحسين رحمه الله كان قد وضحها في هذا الكتاب.
لقد كان الملك محبطا في كثير من الأحيان بسبب الخيانات والمؤتمرات من حوله.
ولكن الغريب في الأمر رغم صداقته وموقعه في الأردن لم يذكر أي معلومة عن معركة الكرامة بأي شكل من الأشكال.
كتاب ثري جدا لمن يحب التاريخ السياسي للأردن وللملك حسين رحمه الله
يزن الجراح
20/3/2021 290
King’s Counsel
Jack O’Connell
This was a very interesting memoir describing an extraordinary relationship between the King of Jordan and the CIA man, Mr. O’Connell. A man whose only mission was to keep the King in power, but later on, found he was full of admiration and respect to a king who wholeheartedly wanted and worked for peace.
Through the chapters that described different periods, O’Connell provided a look behind the scenes uncovering secrets and plots, especially for the September 1970 confrontation between Jordan and the PLO, the six day war and the Iraqi Gulf war.
As he describes the peace accord signed between Jordan and Israel, he understood that there would be no real peace as the three major issues were not resolved in that treaty: Jerusalem, the refugees, or the West Bank and the other occupied territories.
In the end, he sums the whole conflict by one final advice. I quote: “I tell the Jordanians, there are three ways you can deal with Israel: militarily, but that’s a mistake, because you can’t win; diplomatically, but you’re no good at it, you’re going to lose there as well; or legally, because that’s where you have the advantage, the law is on your side, and that’s what you start talking about.”
This book gives a different perspective of the Middle East conflicts, describing its complicated political environment in a very simple and interesting manner.
290 Despite the cynicism which comes with reading a book by a CIA guy, one has to appreciate the criticism which O'Connell levels against Israel: There is a question the Israelis have to ask themselves, and it's been my thought the whole time I was involved with this, and it was King Hussein's thought: What do they want? Don't they want to have peace with anybody? Do they think they will exist in any happy condition if they don't make peace with any of their neighbors? (246). These questions come across in an exasperated tone, at the end of the book, after O'Connell has spent nearly 250 pages outlining all the ways that King Hussein tried to reach out to the Israelis during his reign. It carries with it a sense that seems obvious to those of us observing the Palestinian issue, and that is: what Israel is doing in their never-ending occupation is simply unsustainable. At some point hard choices are going to have to be made, or Israel self-destructs.
Through the book, we're walked through a history lesson that dates back to the time O'Connell met King Hussein, when the young King was just 22 years old. From there, the relationship serves as a vantage point for major events in the Palestinian crisis: the 1967 and 1973 wars, the 1982 war in Lebanon, the 1987 intifada, the Camp David and Oslo accords. In all of these instances of course, promises were made and trusts betrayed. The King comes across sincere, as desiring peace, and as devoting his life and power to that end.
The book is interesting from the historical vantage point of being next to King Hussein during the region's most important events, but the thought of what might be missing always weighs on the mind.
290 مذكرات لمحامٍ أمريكي عاصر أحداث حرجة وحساسة في الشرق الأوسط وبالتحديد في المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية، ليضعنا ومن خلال ما يتذكره وما يعرفه على أهم الأحداث التي جرت في تلك الحقبة منذ تولي جلالة الملك حسين بن طلال رحمه الله سلطاته الدستورية.
لقد بيَّن أوكونيل سلسلةً من الإجراءات والأفعال الجاسوسية والمراسلات التي تحدث عبره، دون أن يُخفي موالاته للملك الذي اعتبره صديقًا له في زمن الجاسوسية وانعدام الثقة، ليسلط الضوء على محاولات الإغتيال وإطاحة الحكم الهاشمي العديدة والتي كانت وللأسف تديرها أنظمة عربية مجاورة. ليتحدث أيضًا عن الصراع العربي الإسرائيلي، وعن أحداث أيلول أو ما يُعرف بأيلول الأسود الذي احتلت فيه قوات منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية مدعومة من دول عربية عمّان لتُسعى لتشكيل دولة داخل دولة. قبل إخراجها بالقوة من الأردن لتتمركز في لبنان.
وقد شرح ما جرى في حرب تشرين عام 1973 وخداع العرب للمملكة ليبيّن زيف ادعاءات تسريب الملك موعد الحرب، إذ أنه هو نفسه لم يكن يعلم بموعدها إلا من خلال منشق عن النظام السوري دون أن تؤكد له أي دولة ذلك، كرد فعلٍ وانتقام من الأردن لإخراجه ميليشيات منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، ثم محاولة جرّها للحرب التي لم تتحقق أيٌ من غاياتها التي نشأت بسببها وبقيت الأراضي التي أُحتلت عام 1967 تحت سيطرة إسرائيل، ثم يتابع بسرده لمذكراته عن محاولات السلام التي طُرِحت بعدما أظهرت القراءات الواقعية ضُعف التحالف العربي تجاه القوة العسكرية الإسرائيلية المدعومة من الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية. وما فعلها السادات وكيسنجر من خديعةٍ للأردن ليؤكد انسحاب إسرائيل من الأراضي المصرية على حساب الضفة الغربية التي أوهم الملك بوضعها ضمن مخطط للسلام بين الدول الثلاثة فيسقط الأردن والضفة الغربية من المعاهدة.
ربما من الصعوبة بمكان أن نستوعب تلك التحالفات والخيانات والحرب الجاسوسية في تلك الفترة، وما يؤلم هو انقلاب أبناء الملّة على بعضهم البعض، لكن يبقى هذا تاريخنا ببياضه وسواده ومجبرون على تقبله. ومع ذلك لا يمكن إنكار الحقيقة وليس لأنها مذكرات رجلٍ غربي يجب أن نرفضها لكنها تُرينا حقًا السبب وراء نظرة الغرب المتدنية لنا، لأننا نحن من قدّم الثور الأبيض للذبح.
في النهاية الكتاب لا أجده مذكرات شخصية بحتة بل هي سيرةٌ مؤلمة لزمنٍ صعب مرَّ على الأردن، خطّه رجلٌ أجنبي لم يدفعه سوى حبّه لأرضٍ ليست له وانتماءه لملكٍ ليس ملكه.
ملحوظة: للأسف قبضتُ على جملةِ أخطاءٍ إملائية ونحوية فادحة في هذا الكتاب مما جعلني أستنكر كلا المترجم والمدقق اللغوي على تلك الهفوات الكبيرة التي لا يكتبها طالبٌ في الصف الأول الإبتدائي ككلمتي ( لقاءاً و مساءاً والأصح لقاءً ومساءً ) فوجود الألف بعد الهمزة سبب لي غضبٌ هائل وكلما مررت على تلك الكلمتين اللتين تكررتا كثيرًا في الكتاب أصاب بإحباطٍ كبير.
#إيمان_بني_صخر 290 Jack O'Connell served as CIA station chief in Jordan from 1963 to 1971, becoming the closest foreign advisor of that country's leader, King Hussein, and remaining his friend and attorney in the decades after that. King's Counsel is his memoir, and it contains not only personal insight into the mess that is the Middle East peace process - or lack thereof - but heretofore unrevealed first-person observations of history unfolding, as well as the powerful, behind-the-scenes forces shaping it.
The writing itself is not exceptional, but the subject matter is fascinating, and it is eye-opening to read the views of O'Connell, an old school CIA man cut from much of the same cloth as the diplomatic corps, on people like Henry Kissinger, Saddam Hussein, Anwar Sadat, the Israelis and various U.S. presidents and administrations. It is a clear-eyed, largely apolitical look at the way the United States has behaved in the Middle East, most importantly with regard to our hypocritical support of Israel and our serial betrayal of Jordan.
Highly recommended for students of modern history and real-world diplomatic intrigue. 290
A distinctive and eye-opening look at the work of the CIA and its connection with Middle-East diplomacy over the past 50-odd years, by the King of Jordan's closest American confidant.
The book is filled with anecdotes like the time the author and a buddy got drunk and broke into a Soviet construction project in Jordan on a whim to bug the site. When the Soviets discovered the slapdash job later, they assumed it couldn't be American work because it was too amateur. The author also discusses more significant historical events, like his time working with America's UN representative Arthur Goldberg to help pass UN Resolution 242 in 1967, which has become the basis for all subsequent peace talks.
This is a wonderful look at the forces that have shaped the Middle East over the past 50 years, and the author's part in shaping them. 290
Jack O'Connell possessed an uncanny ability to be at the center of things. On his arrival in Jordan in 1958, he unraveled a coup aimed at the young King Hussein, who would become America's most reliable Middle East ally. Over time, their bond of trust and friendship deepened.
His narrative contains secrets that will revise our understanding of the Middle East. In 1967, O'Connell tipped off Hussein that Israel would invade Egypt the next morning. Later, as Hussein's Washington counselor, O'Connell learned of Henry Kissinger's surprising role in the Yom Kippur War.
The book's leitmotif is betrayal. Hussein, the Middle East's only bona fide peacemaker, wanted simply the return of the West Bank, seized in the Six-Day War. Despite American promises, the clear directive of UN Resolution 242, and the years of secret negotiations with Israel, that never happened. Hussein's dying wish was that O'Connell tell the unknown story in this book. Kings Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East
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