![Jordanian Salafi jihadi leader Abu Sayyaf (R) speaks to his supporters and the media during a demonstration against prolonged detention of the group's leaders near the prime minister's office in Amman, April 9, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTXYES1](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTXYES1.jpg/1-RTXYES1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=ezHUe_2O)
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Amman who specializes in Middle East issues. He can be reached at alsharif.osama@gmail.com. On Twitter: @plato010
![Jordanian Salafi jihadi leader Abu Sayyaf (R) speaks to his supporters and the media during a demonstration against prolonged detention of the group's leaders near the prime minister's office in Amman, April 9, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTXYES1](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTXYES1.jpg/1-RTXYES1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=ezHUe_2O)
![Syrian refugees walk at Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYZOH](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/06/Syria-Jordan.jpg/Syria-Jordan.jpg?h=930a6ae7&itok=sdLovtuk)
![U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah await questions from the press prior to a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss issues like the Syrian crisis and regional security, in Washington, April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Theiler (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ1AA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/05/Jordan.jpg/Jordan.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=nlAOy4RL)
![U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah await questions from the press prior to a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss issues like the Syrian crisis and regional security, in Washington, April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Theiler (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ1AA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/05/Jordan.jpg/Jordan.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=nlAOy4RL)
![Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (C) greets Qatar's Ambassador to Jordan, Zayed bin Said Al-Khayareen during the official opening ceremony for the new headquarters of the Iranian embassy in Amman, May 7, 2013. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZDLU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/05/RTXZDLU-001.jpg/RTXZDLU-001.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=-8Co1MHD)
![Syrian refugees stand as they wait to receive humanitarian aid shopping vouchers at a distribution center of the World Food Program (WFP) organization in Amman April 11, 2013. The U.N. refugee agency and the WFP are distributing shopping vouchers to 170,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan every month to mostly women and children. The shopping voucher program has allocated $5.5 million in vouchers for Syrian refugees in Jordan, according to a WFP official. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY I](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/04/Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Jordan.jpg/Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Jordan.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=HC7g-M0q)
![Jordan's new Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour speaks to the media after the swearing-in ceremony for the new cabinet at the Royal Palace in Amman March 30, 2013. Jordan's King Abdullah swore in a reformist government on Saturday, an administration that will be required to speed up economic and political reforms, officials said. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXY31C](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/Ensour.jpg/Ensour.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=DnztMrwd)
![Protesters from the Islamic Action Front and other opposition parties shout slogans to demand political and economic reform, and access to corruption cases, during a demonstration after Friday prayers in Amman February 22, 2013. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3E4AO](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/Jordan%20protest.jpg/Jordan%20protest.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=shT9FMI-)
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Amman who specializes in Middle East issues. He can be reached at alsharif.osama@gmail.com. On Twitter: @plato010