By SCM Foreign Desk
AMMAN, Jordan — In a rare and bold public challenge to the Jordanian government, hundreds of prominent political, legal, and public figures have signed an open letter calling for the immediate withdrawal of American military forces from the Hashemite kingdom.
The petition, circulating widely on encrypted messaging apps and social media despite strict domestic censorship, reflects growing public alarm that Washington’s military footprint is pulling Jordan into an escalating regional war.
“We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political, and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the signatories wrote in the open letter.
Jordanian news outlets have universally declined to publish the text of the letter or the names of those who signed it. Journalists and civic leaders in Amman noted that publishing the document carries the immediate threat of arrest and prosecution under the kingdom’s stringent cybercrime and national security laws, which heavily restrict public dissent and criticism of foreign policy.
Escalating Regional Friction
The challenge comes at a perilous moment for King Abdullah II and his government. Jordan hosts approximately 4,000 American military personnel spread across key military installations, serving as a critical logistics and operational node for U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.
In recent months, as military exchanges between the United States, Israel, and Iran have intensified, Jordan’s airspace and military bases have increasingly been caught in the crossfire. American air defense systems operating within Jordan have routinely intercepted incoming Iranian drones and missiles aimed at Israel or regional targets, leaving civilian areas vulnerable to falling shrapnel and debris.
Air raid sirens have repeatedly echoed across Amman and eastern desert regions, rattling a population already deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and hostile to Jordan’s security cooperation with Washington and Tel Aviv.
Sufyan al-Tell, a 90-year-old veteran political activist who signed the petition, said the document was meant to make clear to international observers that a wide gulf exists between official state policy and the views of ordinary citizens.
“We as Jordanian people do not accept the politics of the government and its exploitation of Jordan and its capabilities in one way or another to defend Israel,” said Mr. al-Tell, who was previously detained by security forces in 2022. He added that despite the clear threat of state retaliation, hundreds more citizens have added their names since the document was initially drafted. “The response of the government is to open the prison doors and drag us one after another to prison,” he cautioned.
Strategic Dependency vs. Public Discontent
The Jordanian government has offered no official response to the open letter or accusations that it is stifling free speech. However, analysts say Amman’s tight alliance with Washington is anchored in economic necessity and security survival.
Jordan’s economy remains deeply fragile, burdened by high unemployment, scarce water resources, and a struggling tourism sector severely battered by regional instability. The United States remains the kingdom’s largest single donor, providing roughly $1.65 billion annually in foreign economic and military assistance.
This deep financial dependence leaves the royal court with little room to maneuver, forcing it to navigate a delicate balance: maintaining the vital U.S. alliance that underwrites state stability while managing an increasingly angry populace that views U.S. military bases as a violation of national sovereignty and a magnet for foreign attack.
While public opinion polls are heavily restricted in Jordan, political observers note that the signatories represent a broad cross-section of society, including leftist groups, Pan-Arab nationalists, legal scholars, and Islamist opposition figures.
For many Jordanians, the fear is no longer abstract. As regional missile trade-offs continue to test the endurance of Middle Eastern alliances, the public pushback in Amman highlights the growing domestic political price governments in the region pay for hosting American military assets.
