| occrider |
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11 Jordanian officials resign after bombings
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Posted: 2128 GMT (0528 HKT)
Manage Alerts | What Is This? AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Eleven top Jordanian officials, including the kingdom's national security adviser, resigned Tuesday in the wake of last week's triple hotel bombings, state-run TV announced.
King Abdullah II appointed Marouf al-Bakhit, Jordan's ambassador to Israel, to replace outgoing security chief Saad Kheir, a former chief of Jordan's intelligence department.
No details were given for the resignation of Kheir and 10 others -- including Royal Court chief and former Prime Minister Faisal Fayez, one of the king's closest confidants -- and prominent religious advisers to King Abdullah.
But a limited shake-up had been expected for some time.
Fayez was expected to be appointed speaker of the 40-member senate, a body appointed by the king that liaises with Jordan's 110-member elected parliament.
He was replaced by Salam al-Turk, a retired army general and a former government official. King Abdullah is also the supreme commander of Jordan's military forces.
Senate appointments were expected this week, according to Jordanian newspapers.
The TV announcement made no reference to last Wednesday's attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 61 people and dented the reputation of the country's revered security services.
But the bombings sparked national outrage and raised concerns over the handling of the security services.
There has also been criticism over how the four Iraqi cell members entered Jordan on November 5 without being detected before carrying out their attacks.
Kheir coordinated between the king and different security apparatuses on national security issues such as counterterrorism, crime and border controls.
The bombings were claimed by al Qaeda in Iraq, which is headed by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
King Abdullah, a strong opponent of militant Islam, also accepted the resignation of two top religious leaders, including Sheik Izzedine Khatib al-Tamimi, the country's highest judicial and religious leader.
Others to leave their posts included top economic, information technology and media advisers.
Tuesday's resignation announcements marked Jordan's first major reshuffle of official posts since July.
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/m...s.ap/index.html
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I thought everyone else just gave out freedom medals like we do. :conf: |
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