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11/24/2005:

"Jordan's Government Quits, Monarch Appoints New PM"

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah asked national security head Marouf Bakheet on Thursday to form a new cabinet after the government resigned, a government source said.


It said the monarch officially accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Adnan Badran, 69, a U.S.-educated academic appointed last April, and asked Bakheet to take over the post and form a new team.

The choice of Bakheet, a former ambassador to Israel with a long career in military intelligence, reaffirms the leading role of the security forces in decision-making, a senior official told Reuters.

Although the change was expected, security concerns have become a priority as a result of the suicide bombings at three luxury hotels earlier this month which killed 60 people.

Bakheet was appointed last September as acting head of national security and chief of staff of the king's private office.

King Abdullah surprised many when he appointed Badran to succeed Faisal al-Fayez, blamed by politicians for several policy blunders.

Responsibility for the attacks, among the worst acts of violence in recent Jordanian history, have been claimed by Iraq's al-Qaeda led by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Most powers rest with the king, who appoints governments, approves legislation and can dissolve parliament.
nytimes.com

I'd like to be a fly on the wall and know what's going on here..my guess is that the bombing was not what it seems, and this is common knowledge.