McClatchy DC Logo

Jordan's main highway to Baghdad nearly empty as war nears | McClatchy Washington Bureau

×
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Subscriber Services

    • All White House
    • Russia
    • All Congress
    • Budget
    • All Justice
    • Supreme Court
    • DOJ
    • Criminal Justice
    • All Elections
    • Campaigns
    • Midterms
    • The Influencer Series
    • All Policy
    • National Security
    • Guantanamo
    • Environment
    • Climate
    • Energy
    • Water Rights
    • Guns
    • Poverty
    • Health Care
    • Immigration
    • Trade
    • Civil Rights
    • Agriculture
    • Technology
    • Cybersecurity
    • All Nation & World
    • National
    • Regional
    • The East
    • The West
    • The Midwest
    • The South
    • World
    • Diplomacy
    • Latin America
    • Investigations
  • Podcasts
    • All Opinion
    • Political Cartoons

  • Our Newsrooms

Latest News

Jordan's main highway to Baghdad nearly empty as war nears

Nancy A. Youssef - Knight Ridder Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

March 19, 2003 03:00 AM

AMMAN, Jordan—Jordan's Highway 10 to Baghdad, usually bustling with trucks carrying goods and oil between the two cities, was nearly empty Wednesday, except for a dozen GMC Suburbans carrying diplomats and journalists fleeing the Iraqi capital.

With war seemingly certain, Jordan also began preparing for an influx of refugees, though none had arrived. A sandstorm thwarted the Red Crescent's effort to erect 1,000 tents to house 10,000 of the expected 60,000 refugees.

Journalists and diplomats arriving here said Baghdad residents are arming themselves with handguns and boarding up businesses. President Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard is now protecting government buildings.

The emptiness of Highway 10 underscores the tension as people here wait for war. Twenty-two percent of Jordan's exports go to Iraq. Officials here say 4,000 Jordanian drivers will likely lose their jobs if there is war.

SIGN UP

Mohammed Hadid, president of the Jordanian Red Crescent, the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross, said 131 volunteers from his organization had hoped to finish preparations Wednesday, but were only able to set up poles for 10 tents because of high winds. He said he hoped they would finish Thursday, when winds were forecast to be a mere 12 mph.

"We are just hoping nothing will happen, and this will be just a training exercise for us," Hadid said. "God willing, we are still hoping."

———

(c) 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Iraq

  Comments  

Videos

Democrats announce Green New Deal

Sen. McConnell says Trump will sign spending bill and declare a national emergency

View More Video

Trending Stories

Jared Kushner privately working on reshaping legal immigration

February 20, 2019 05:00 PM

Trump slams California’s ‘fast train’ as Gavin Newsom leads 16 states suing over border wall

February 19, 2019 10:46 AM

Stacey Abrams appearance at voting rights hearing has political overtones, GOP says

February 19, 2019 10:20 AM

VP Mike Pence plans visit to South Carolina to tour Opportunity Zones with Tim Scott

February 19, 2019 05:22 PM

Why Trump’s tweets could be used against him in California’s border emergency lawsuit

February 19, 2019 05:15 PM

Read Next

Fatalities from police chases climbing, could be higher than records indicate

Investigations

Fatalities from police chases climbing, could be higher than records indicate

By Thomas Frank

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 12:00 AM

At least 416 people were killed in police chases in 2017, the fourth straight year that the number of people killed during police pursuits went up

KEEP READING

MORE LATEST NEWS

Republicans rally around Trump after McCabe asserts DOJ discussed removing the president

Congress

Republicans rally around Trump after McCabe asserts DOJ discussed removing the president

February 20, 2019 04:53 PM
Massive public lands bill expected to receive easy approval in the House

Congress

Massive public lands bill expected to receive easy approval in the House

February 20, 2019 12:54 PM
‘You’re my guy’: Top Senate Dem urges Jaime Harrison to challenge Lindsey Graham

Elections

‘You’re my guy’: Top Senate Dem urges Jaime Harrison to challenge Lindsey Graham

February 20, 2019 12:12 PM
VP Mike Pence plans visit to South Carolina to tour Opportunity Zones with Tim Scott

Congress

VP Mike Pence plans visit to South Carolina to tour Opportunity Zones with Tim Scott

February 19, 2019 05:22 PM

Congress

Stacey Abrams appearance at voting rights hearing has political overtones, GOP says

February 19, 2019 10:20 AM
On offshore drilling, Mark Sanford and Joe Cunningham find their legacies are linked

Congress

On offshore drilling, Mark Sanford and Joe Cunningham find their legacies are linked

February 15, 2019 05:00 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

McClatchy Washington Bureau App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Newsletters
Learn More
  • Customer Service
  • Securely Share News Tips
  • Contact Us
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story