Jordan abandons plan to install cameras on Temple Mount

[Mosby]

Following fierce Palestinian protests and threats, Jordan said on Monday that it has abandoned its plan to install security cameras at the Temple Mount.

The decision to drop the plan was announced by Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.

The security cameras were supposed to be installed at the Temple Mount in accordance with an agreement reached late last year between Israel and Jordan under the auspices of US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Ensure said that Jordan would “always remain at the forefront of those defending Palestine, its cause, people and holy sites.”

Last week, Palestinian activists distributed leaflets at the Temple Mount warning Jordan against the installation of the security cameras. The leaflets urged Palestinians to break the cameras when and if they are installed.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Jordan-abandons-plan-to-install-cameras-on-Temple-Mount-451610

This is no small reversal on the part of Jordan because people are dying based on lies being told about the Temple Mount. The Israelis should ask SoS Kerry to find out why the Jordanians lied to him, assuming Kerry cares that is, but hopefully he does care given that he was punked.

[Igel]

1. Starting by accusing the Jordanians of lying is a mistake.

Even encouraging the perception that they lied will make them harder to deal with.

Plus it's an unnecessary assumption.

There are lies and then there are deflections.

You lie when you say something you know to be false in order to make somebody believe it's true. If you don't believe it to be false, or the other person doesn't believe it to be true, it can't be a lie. It's not a deception without a deceived.

Often you just say things because it allows the situation to sit there, undisturbed, until it can be forgotten. You've said what's expected, and saved face for both sides; what you said was accepted by both sides to save face. Nobody really thought you serious, or at least you didn't expect to be taken seriously. Kerry, on the other hand, isn't that culturally ept. He constantly steps in it and assumes that everybody's an East-Coast educated American politician.

In this case, I think it was something Jordan thought a good idea, and might actually have intended to do. But now it's inexpedient and no longer a good idea. Truth is flexible for many people, and both honor and politic power are more important; which matters more depends on which you have more of.

[Mosby]

2. Your right about not accusing the Jordanians of lying

But it's reasonable to ask them why they are not following through with their commitments, or something along those lines.