Jordan is a nation of six-and-a-half million people in the
Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the
west) and Iraq (to the east). It has a strategic location at the
head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares
the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank. Its
major environmental issues include: - limited natural freshwater
resources; - soil erosion; and, Jordan is susceptible to
droughts and periodic earthquakes. Following World War I and the
dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to
govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-
autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early
1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946. It adopted
the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was
King Hussein (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully
navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR,
and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal
Palestinian population. Jordan