By Daoud Kuttab

Freedom of expression is guaranteed and will be practiced in accordance to the law. Freedom of religious practice is safeguarded and will be regulated by law. Citizen are equal regardless of religion, gender or background and this equality will be exercised through law. Elections are free and fair and shall be guaranteed to all citizens in accordance to the law.

The above statements or similar versions often appear in constitutions and are paraded as proof that a particular country safeguards its citizens’ universal human and civil rights. However, upon closer scrutiny, one discovers that any constitutional clause that ends with the term “in accordance to the law” is actually void of the kind of guarantees one expects from a constitution. Because once a guarantee is conditioned by law, a particular legislative body is actually allowed to work out the details of the law rather than allow the right to stand on its own. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The Jordanian Cabinet’s decision to scrap wintertime came at the most difficult time: one day before a long holiday and also one day before the original plan to start wintertime. Furthermore, the rationale for the decision was never fully discussed and defended by those taking it.

For years, Jordanian governments determined the seasonal time changes arbitrarily. Recently, this policy became more structured and institutional. A decision was made declaring the last Friday of March and of October as the day when the new time changes take effect.

This decision was obviously passed on to various local, regional and international bodies. Royal Jordanian and other airlines, Microsoft and other computer companies, as well as telephone companies were all aware that on midnight of October 25 this year, for example, Jordan shifts its clock one hour. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza this week coincided with one of the worst periods in Jordan’s history.Protesters, angry with the price hike of energy products, were more violent and protests larger and more widespread than the Kingdom ever witnessed.

Faced with these unprecedented and extensive demonstrations, Jordan’s security personnel were spread very thin, leaving some sectors of the country vulnerable.

It is a well-known fact that populations voluntarily agree to be governed, but when this natural loyalty is shaken, it is very difficult to do so. In the absence of the rule of law a vacuum is created and at times, hooligans and criminals fill this vacuum. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Nowhere are the grievances that perpetuate violence and war more evident than they are in Palestine today. But the world’s politicians continue to dance around the problem, rather than confront it. The recent deadly violence in Gaza is only the latest proof that people living under occupation and siege need a political horizon, and not simply a cease-fire: the case for an independent state of Palestine has never been so compelling as it is today.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to proceed with plans to seek a vote this week on recognition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly has come despite pressure, promises and threats from Israel and some of its Western allies. Rather than pursuing the UN route the Palestinians, according to these interlocutors, should continue to depend on asymmetrical negotiations that have served as little more than a photo opportunity. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The asymmetrical violence against the people of Gaza has again forced regional and international players to consider what to do about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. When Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, and his wife visited a Gaza hospital with Arab ministers, they were confronted with the arrival of families whose loved ones had been killed by Israeli missiles.

Mr Davutoglu and the other ministers were brought to tears as they were confronted with the human costs of the conflict, and they promised to do what they could to end this tragedy. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

A real possibility exists for a Middle East peace in President Obama’s second term. Palestinians and Arabs are ready to make major concessions and the Israelis know that time is not on their side if they still want a democratic state with a Jewish majority.

The world had an exaggerated expectation of America’s first African American president in terms of what he could do in his first term. Now a politically mature second term president, who has proven that he can take care of world terrorists, can also help deliver peace without having to worry about any new elections. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Reelected U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to be able to conduct policy with much more vigor.

While on domestic and economic issues he will need to work with a Republican House (the Senate will be Democratic), foreign relations is where the executive branch (the White House and the State Department) has the ability to apply his policies.

America’s first African American president who grew up in several parts of the world should be able to produce a foreign policy much closer to his heart and beliefs without having to worry about another election.

Second-term U.S. presidents, who naturally care about their legacy, often look overseas to find ways for history to remember them.

War and peace cannot be addressed in any part of the world more than in the Middle East, where the U.S. is fighting a war in Afghanistan and will continue to need to win the hearts and minds of Arabs and Muslims. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Politics and economics are always intertwined. In Jordan, this was clearly the case when the government raised energy prices.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour went to great lengths on Jordan TV Tuesday night to explain to the Jordanian public why his government was forced to hike prices of gasoline, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas. But the problems facing the Ensour government are much deeper than simply the budget deficit or subsidized prices.

Ensour is correct to blame some of the problems on the Arab Spring, but he is wrong as to how the Arab Spring exacerbated the situation. He tried to blame the blowing up of the Egyptian gas pipe and the demonstrations of the hirak (movements) in Jordan for the financial crisis. However, the prime minister, who was opposed to the recently approved Elections Law, made no mention of this restrictive law that made an important sector of the society refuse to participate in the upcoming elections. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Once again we are witnessing a sharp escalation of violence without any pretense of looking for a political horizon. Israel is shelling Gaza from land, sea and air without even thinking about a political perspective.

Pundits and activists will argue over who is to blamefor the current round of violence. Was it theassassination of the Hamas military leader Ahmed Jaabari or the attack on the Israeli army jeep near the border? Also questioned will be the goals of the Israeli offensive, but in all the tough talk, no one is even considering to look further than the military solution.

Palestinian leader Mahmood Abbas made a short television appearance Friday insisting that the PLO is planning to go to New York on the 29th of November seeking a vote for an upgraded status for Palestine. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab