Have we been fooling ourselves a bit with the show of popular solidarity in response to the bombings? Is it enough to wave our flag and have candel light vigils?

I just came across this Reuters story by Suleiman Khalidi:

Jordan faces threat of homegrown militants

..and the following story on a report by the International Crisis Group (also a Reuters story)

Jordan’s pro-Western stance fuels attacks

Both stories are unsettling. The conclusion seems to me that an IMMEDIATE effort is needed by the government to deal with the issue of extremism and terror on multiple levels: security (obviously), freedom/democracy, cultural development and making sure that economic opportunities reach the whole population.

Of value are also the ideas put forward by Rami Khoury in his latest article in the Daily Star:

Can Jordan fight terror, democratically?

The National Agenda was presented to HM the King today. Let’s hope that we see some serious movement on the issues it tackles soon.