His Royal Highness Prince
Feisal bin Al-Abdullah |
His Royal Highness Lt. General Prince Feisal Bin
Al-Hussein, brother to His Majesty King Abdullah
II, is a Former Commander of the Royal Air Forces
and a graduate in Electronic Engineering from Brown
University. In 1982 he received pilot training,
and went on to a flying career in the Jordanian
RAF, piloting both fighter aircraft and helicopters.
In this March, 2006 interview His Royal Highness
discusses the role of Jordan as a stabilizing presence
in the Middle East, the history of its armed forces,
the importance of US-Jordanian bilateral relations,
and, in anticipation of a one of its kind exhibition
in Amman, focusing on equipment and services in
support of special forces units, and the ever-increasing
role of special operations in modern peacemaking.
Question:
In November, when news of the hotel bombings in
Amman occurred, what were your first thoughts?
Feisal: I wasn’t
actually in Jordan at the time. I was overseas discussing
military cooperation, so I was chairing one of the
sub-committee meetings when I received a hardcopy
of an initial wire that said that there had been
explosions reported in three hotels in Jordan. So
I asked my staff to try and get some further information.
This took a bit of time but we managed to get some
of the media channels and see some of the footage.
Unfortunately, as when anything like this happens,
everyone is on the phone, and it was hard to get
through.
This was what some consider to be the best of Jordan…it’s
action, and bravery in that regular citizens were
trying to stop and see what they could do to help.
A lot of people left the hospitals, taking taxis
and private cars, in order make room for the wounded.
I think it shows that, under crisis, Jordanians
from all walks of life try and help out.
It also demonstrated afterwards that in Jordan that
we will not allow extremist elements to target any
element of society, particularly when you go into
a wedding with women and children and so on. It’s
nothing but the targeting of innocents, and it’s
certainly unacceptable.
Question:
That brings us to the special- forces, anti-terrorism
exhibition being held here in Amman. Do you think
the need for such training and equipment was foreseen
back before 9-11?
Feisal: His Majesty
(King Abdullah II) was very keen when he was in
the special- forces to look at addressing that particular
market niche. Sofex started very small, then became
a full-fledged partner with the UAE. He also recognized
that those of us in the air force had a number of
air shows internationally where we get to go around
and actually see what technological capabilities
are. He attended a couple of air shows himself but
there wasn’t anything the special- forces market.
You have to through something like a truck show
in Las Vegas or some other small shows…so there
was really nothing that was encompassing everything
for him as he was getting involved in special forces
and that particular market niche.
So we decided to create something that will actually
target that particular audience. That’s what
we’ve done quite successfully at Sofex.
Question:
In contrast to your standard arms show, how well
do you think that those who attend this particular
exhibit come in knowing and understanding their
needs?
Feisal: I think that
those who attend, from a commercial perspective,
are companies that are primarily demonstrating capabilities
addressing special-forces needs. They might address
some of the general needs rather than specifically
special-forces; but the audience that we have includes
ministers of defense, we’re looking at air
chiefs, chiefs of staff, and we’re also looking
at special-forces commanders from around the world.
So I would say when you come in with your staff
you are there with people who hope to benefit. If
you go to a naval exhibition you’re not going
to take an airman or a tank commander, you take
someone from your navy.
I think it is well balanced, I think it is very
well done. From those I’ve talked to after
the last exhibit it seemed to be just the right
mix.
Question:
This is a good opportunity for people to be exposed
to services and equipment with which they would
otherwise not become familiar.
Feisal: I’ve always
found that in these kinds of shows that you come
across something that maybe you’ve heard about
or you’ve read about but you’ve never
actually had the chance to see. It’s also an
opportunity for the SF community to get together
to talk about their own challenges. You might find
someone from a different service and you can ask—I’ve
heard that you have evaluated this system…what
do you guys think of it? And they say—well
these are the pros, and these are the cons.
I think it’s an opportunity to build relationships.
Special-forces is taking an ever-increasingly bigger
role. Even in the QDR (the Pentagon’s Quadrennial
Defense Review) there is far more focus on unconventional
and asymmetrical warfare. This is something, given
the way the world is going, that we as armed forces
and security services and so on have to be able
to deal asymmetrically and special forces is the
best equipped and the best capable to do that.
Question:
From a technological standpoint how much has changed
since this event was first held ten years ago?
Feisal: There has been
a lot, particularly in terms of systems and software
in such things as communications. Ten years ago
if you wanted to have an inter-squad communications
capability, the radio sets were so big and bulky;
but now they are streamlined with the headset, the
microphone. Another example is in night vision devices—how
far have we come? Well we’ve probably come
in the last ten years from generation two all the
way to generation four—the resolution, the
capabilities as a pilot for night flying, the increased
resolutions and reliability of those night vision
devices greatly enhances flight safety.
I would say on the weapons systems… not so
much. More so in terms of technology that works
to support them, and in terms of technology that
enables special-forces to get better information
and be more effective in his role.
Question:
In the regular military it’s always the F-15s,
the stealth fighters, aircraft carriers, M1A1 tanks
that get all the attention, yet it’s really
the transport aircraft, the logistics, artillery,
and the common soldier that form the real backbone.
What would you say is the backbone of special-operations?
Feisal: The real key
for special-forces is the ability to work under
extreme conditions. That is the backbone.
When you have a team of people that is highly qualified,
highly trained, with very capable leadership that
can work together as an integrated team to get the
job done. I think even if you look at ten years
ago the emphasis was always on platforms…as
you say, aircraft carriers, or tanks. I think we’ve
evolved a long way. What now we’re looking
at in terms of delivering a capability… whether
we are talking about needing a bridge removed or
some terrorists taken out in a building…what
is the most effective means? Special forces can
do it. Otherwise do you use an artillery shell,
an Abrams tank, or do you use an F-15?
There are a lot of ways to crack that nut. I think
now people are saying—I want to have a capability
it doesn’t matter what kind of beret does the
job. You need to be better integrated to get that
job done.
As a fighter pilot my first response is—well,
use a laser- guided bomb, but it may be far more
cost effective to have an artillery shell do the
job, or have a couple of guys sneak in there to
take out the target.
There is a shift underway to move away from the
glossy into terms of capability and I think that’s
where SF comes into its strength. Because you have
a very compact, highly trained, highly motivated
that can offer a lot of capability. It’s how
you use that capability will then determine how
effective it can be as an SF force.
Question:
Something in the neighborhood of 60 percent of expenditures
in the global arms market is destined for the Middle
East. What will it take to see a lessening of the
need for such expenditures in this region?
Feisal: It’s a
global phenomenon that we are seeing. I sometime
look at these extremists as what a century a go
we would have called anarchists. In those days anarchists
would commit suicide and commit acts of terror in
the name of a political party, or thought or idea.
These extremists do very much the same thing, under
the banner of religion. All the Abrahamic religions
believe in the sanctity of life and the pureness
of innocence and the importance of tolerance and
being compassionate to your fellow man and love-thy-neighbor.
All these elements are not reflected in the extremist
view. Although it’s labeled under religion,
it has nothing to do with religion.
You’re seeing it everywhere from the Philippines,
United States, even Latin America. All of these
places it is around us, and we have to deal with
it.
We are going to see less of the two countries going
to war type of conflict and more, so the armed forces
that have traditionally dealt with the conventional
are now having to face a new phenomenon, or re emergence
of a phenomenon, called terrorism.
I think people will realize we have a highly trained
and capable force. The armed forces can support
the police and the civil authorities to combat terrorism
because they have specific training or certain equipment.
Sometimes these capabilities are things the civilian
community would find very expensive to have, or
would not have the opportunity to get people up
to speed. In the United States, for example, you
have some very capable SWAT teams. I would say that
some of them, and in Europe, are probably on par
with Delta. You have some countries where special-
forces are the only ones that have a capability
for hostage rescue or fighting in built up areas.
They are the best of the best. If you have a hostage
rescue you want to send the best of the best, otherwise
you’re going to have a lot more unnecessary
deaths.
Question:
Jordan has basically always been out gunned by its
neighbors. Is this why special forces are so important
here?
Feisal: I don’t
think it’s so much that they are more important.
You’ve also got to look at the political framework.
Jordan has always been a bedrock of stability. It
has always had a very central role of the armed
forces in being able to provide that stability.
We’ve always been outgunned, as you’ve
said; but small is beautiful and Jordan is a small
country with big ideas. We’ve always been able
to hold our own and that has been a success. I think
his late Majesty and His Majesty have always given
the ordinary Jordanian the capability to do the
job. I think for those reasons there was a trust
in developing the special-forces capabilities, and
having people highly trained whereas some of the
surrounding countries would be reluctant to put
forth that level of faith.
I think that this is one of the secrets that Jordan
has had. We believe in our people and we believe
in their capability.
Question:
How much of a British tradition is there in the
Jordanian military?
Feisal: We have a British
tradition. Under the British mandate of WWI British
commanders controlled the armed forces, with Glubb
Pasha (Sir John Bagot Glubb) being the last one.
After WWI the powers that be decided to carve up
the area into different states, and we’ve lived
with that decision ever since.
In the first of March, 1956 his late Majesty, King
Hussein took the decision to Arabize the army. We
felt safe enough that we did not need British commanders
to run it. So this has been 50 years of our armed
forces tradition as being independent and reliant
upon ourselves.
We have a strong tradition. I myself went through
Cranwell, which is the Royal Air Force equivalent
to Sandhurst military academy. I did my basic flying
training in the UK. All my daughters are Sandhurst
graduates, in fact two of my sisters are Sandhurst
graduates. So we have a long tradition historically.
Any armed forces looks back proudly upon their heritage.
Question:
Did you know as a child that you wanted to be a
pilot?
Feisal: I’ve been
in love with aviation since I was a kid. And I was
lucky and blessed to come from a tradition where
my father also had the same passion and love for
flying. Maybe I inherited that from him. He was
supportive and encouraged me to become a pilot.
The request for all of us was that if you were going
to do something, to do it professionally. When I
was looking at flying he took me up, and gave me
helicopter lessons when I was very young. He liked
the fact that one of his kids shared his passion
for flying.
Question:
How often do you go up now?
Feisal: Fast jets…
I have been stopped probably six or seven years
now. I don’t know if I would fit into my G-suit
anyway. But helicopters, maybe two or three times
a month if I’m lucky. That’s what I basically
fly now is helicopters.
Questions:
We have discussed the Jordanian-British military
tradition, but what about Jordanian and American
cooperation through out the years? How important
is that and how has it grown?
Feisal:It has been
very important. It’s something that we value.
We believe we have a very good working relationship
with the US military. There are a number of bilateral
exercises that we’ve held together for a number
of years. After the first Gulf War there was a lot
of strain between the US and Jordanian relations,
and that was reflected in very low funding and support
for the military, but I think people understood
that relationships were built between people—between
soldiers, and captains that end up creating the
friendships and relationships that stand. So when
they became colonels and generals they look back
and say ‘I wonder what happened to so and so.’
I think it is important to build bridges.
From the number of exercises and opportunities that
we have to work together I think it’s a strong
and robust relationship, built on trust and mutual
respect. There is a lot that we have done in the
past to demonstrate that we are an ally. His Majesty
has always had us express our opinions as clearly
and concisely as we can. In some cases it may not
be what people want to hear, but as partners in
the region it’s important to tell the truth,
not what people want to hear. We’ve always
been frank and candid, and that is one of the things
that really highlights the extent of the relationship
that we have. We’re hoping to continue to work
and expand and deepen the relationship.
One of the things we have is partnerships—there
is a partnership program with the state of Colorado,
on-going now for just about a year.
Question:
What is that about?
Feisal: If you remember
there used to be the Partnership for Peace Program
for East Europe (Related to NATO) we were the first
one in the region to have asked for a stake partnership,
with Colorado. We had very good relationship with
the Guard. It actually started out as a very good
military to military cooperation. People said ‘hey
this is such a good relationship, why don’t
we try to institutionalize it?’
Colorado, as it works out, has F-16s, they have
Blackhawks, Hueys, a lot of equipment and systems
in the Guard. We’ve been able to expand that
to include relationships that include such things
as police, civil defense, and fire and rescue, in
order to expand that ability.
Question:
With whom do you personally have the closest relationships
in Washington?
Feisal: Most of my
relationships are particularly in the Pentagon,
because that is my area of expertise. I have good
relations with the State Department, the secretaries
of state. We’ve had an increasing opportunity
to meet with the Department of Homeland Security
and look at cooperation issues. In my position I’m
taken to more of a holistic view in terms of security,
similar to what you call homeland security—interagency
activity rather than just pure military.
In addition to DHS I’ve had visits with the
FBI, visiting their field offices. And I try to
get up to the Hill to talk to some of the people
on the Appropriations Committee, and Foreign Relations
Committee. We’ve got such a good working relationship
that I get a lot done in those busy three and four
day visits.
Question:
Finally, is there any special message that you would
like to give to Washington about your country?
Feisal: Jordan has
demonstrated that it is a good, credible, and solid
partner for stability and progress within the region.
I think Washington recognizes and appreciates the
work that we have done over a number of years and
I guess with the uncertainties of the future we
know that we have friends in Washington and we hope
that it will continue to support what we are trying
to do in this country.
|
Jordan 
