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Summary

This report provides an overview of Jordanian politics and current issues in U.S.-Jordanian relations. It provides a brief overview of Jordan's government and economy and of its cooperation in promoting Arab-Israeli peace and other U.S. policy objectives in the Middle East. This report will be updated regularly. Several issues in U.S.-Jordanian relations are likely to figure in decisions by Congress and the Administration on future aid to and cooperation with Jordan. These include the stability of the Jordanian regime, the role of Jordan in the Arab-Israeli peace process, Jordan's role in stabilizing Iraq, and U.S.-Jordanian military and intelligence cooperation. Although the United States and Jordan have never been linked by a formal treaty, they have cooperated on a number of regional and international issues over the years. The country's small size and lack of major economic resources have made it dependent on aid from Western and friendly Arab sources. U.S. support, in particular, has helped Jordan deal with serious vulnerabilities, both internal and external. Jordan's geographic position, wedged between Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, has made it vulnerable to the strategic designs of its more powerful neighbors, but has also given Jordan an important role as a buffer between these potential adversaries. In 1990, Jordan's unwillingness to join the allied coalition against Iraq disrupted its relations with the United States and the Persian Gulf states; however, relations improved throughout the 1990s as Jordan played an increasing role in the Arab-Israeli peace process and distanced itself from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. In the last decade, U.S. aid to Jordan has more than tripled, from a total of $223 million in FY1998 to an estimated $687.7 million in FY2008. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, aid to Jordan increased significantly. Further increases in U.S. aid to Jordan began in FY2003, in view of Jordan's support for the war against terrorism and U.S. operations in Iraq. Since FY2003, Jordan's total assistance package has averaged over $740 million per fiscal year. This higher figure is due in part to large allocations for Jordan in subsequent supplemental appropriations acts (a total of $1.5 billion since FY2003). The Administration's FY2009 request to Congress is $535.4 million for U.S. aid to Jordan. This includes $263.5 in economic aid and $235 million in military assistance. Jordan also is seeking additional FY2008 supplemental assistance to cope with its struggling economy and the influx of Iraqi refugees. According to Jordan's Embassy in Washington D.C., "Jordan is seeking supplemental assistance of $500 million in 2008 to be able to assist in mitigating the impact the economic burden of the doubling of oil prices and its impact on Jordan's growth and poverty levels, the pressing costs of security and military obligations, as well as the impact of the large presence of Iraqis on the Jordanian economy."

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