Jordan Deal Could Go a Long Way : Can Assad hang out there all alone forever?

It was an occasion that called for eloquence and vision, and the key participants did not disappoint.

President Clinton, King Hussein of Jordan and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel all spoke words fitting to the solemnity, goodwill and promise of the moment. The two Middle Eastern leaders did not sign a treaty of peace when they met on Monday in bright sunshine on the White House lawn, as the leaders of Egypt and Israel had on a March day 15 years ago; that is yet to come. But with their agreement on a declaration ending a state of belligerency nearly half a century old, Jordan and Israel have taken a defining turn in the road.

For both, this is an act of national self-interest, an opportunity finally and after great cost to establish normal and mutually beneficial ties across their long border. Especially for the king, it was also an act of personal courage. He needs no reminding of the fates met by his grandfather, King Abdullah, who was assassinated in 1951 in part because of his readiness to reach a realistic accommodation with Israel; or of Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, the first and so far only other Arab leader to make peace with Israel, who was similarly murdered by opponents of conciliation. War is universally destructive. In the Arab world, tragically, peace can be the undoing of leaders.

Hussein is, of course, looking for rewards beyond what closer ties with Israel can bring, beginning in Washington. Congress, which both Hussein and Rabin are to address today, has not forgotten and has yet to fully forgive the king’s decision to give tacit backing to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. That self-wounding act cost Jordan most of its U.S. military and economic help, along with its considerable annual subsidy from Saudi Arabia. Hussein desperately needs at least significant forgiveness of Jordan’s $700-million debt to the United States, as well as help in modernizing his armed forces. We urge Congress to be sympathetic to these requests. In the politically reshaped Middle East now emerging, a Jordan economically stronger and better able to defend itself against radical foes is clearly something U.S. policy should support.

With an Israel-Jordan peace approaching, with an Israel-Palestinian settlement lurching ahead, with Israel’s ties with Tunisia, Morocco and some of the Persian Gulf states openly expanding, Syria’s position as odd man surely becomes increasingly uncomfortable. How long might it be before President Hafez Assad stands where Hussein stood Monday? Maybe never. But maybe, too, sooner than many could right now imagine.