Ali Abu Nuwar (; surname also spelled Abu Nuwwar, Abu Nawar or Abu Nowar; 1925 – 15 August 1991) was a Jordanian military officer who served as chief of staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces from May 1956 to April 1957. He participated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as an artillery officer in the Jordanian army's predecessor, the Arab Legion, but his vocal opposition to British influence in Jordan led to his virtual exile to Paris as military attaché in 1952. There, he forged close ties with Jordanian crown prince Hussein, who promoted Abu Nuwar after his accession to the throne.
Abu Nuwar's enmity with Glubb Pasha, the Arab Legion's powerful British chief of staff, his insistence on establishing Arab command over the army and his influence with Hussein led the latter to dismiss Glubb Pasha and appoint Abu Nuwar in his place. However, Abu Nuwar's ardent support for the pan-Arabist policies of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser contributed to Jordan's increasing isolation from the UK and the US, which were major sources of foreign aid to Jordan. At the same time, existing dissatisfaction with Abu Nuwar's leadership by palace officials and veteran Bedouin army units culminated into violent confrontations at the large army barracks in Zarqa between royalist and Arab nationalist units. Two principal accounts emerged regarding the events at Zarqa, with the royalist version holding that the incident was an abortive coup by Abu Nuwar against Hussein, and the dissident version asserting that it was a staged, American-backed counter-coup by Hussein against the pan-Arabist movement in Jordan. In any case, Abu Nuwar resigned and was allowed to leave Jordan for Syria. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in absentia.
Abu Nuwar spent much of his time in exile between Syria and Egypt organizing opposition to Hussein and the monarchy, all the while maintaining his innocence in the Zarqa incident. He returned to Jordan in 1964 after being pardoned by Hussein as part of the latter's broader reconciliation efforts with his exiled opposition. In 1971, Abu Nuwar was made ambassador to France and he was later appointed to the Senate of Jordan's parliament in 1989. He died from blood cancer at a London hospital at age 66, one year after the publication of his memoirs, A Time of Arab Decline: Memoirs of Arab Politics (1948–1964).
Early life Ali Abu Nuwar was born in 1925 in al-Salt,Shlaim 2007, p. 64. Transjordan, which was then under British control. His father's family, the Abu Nuwar, was a prominent Arab clan in al-Salt.Pearson 2010, p. 94.Massad 2001, p. 170. His mother was of Circassian descent. In his youth, Abu Nuwar was influenced by the discussions that his father and relatives held about the effects of the 1916 Arab Revolt, the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 Syrian Arab defeat at the Battle of Maysalun had on the fate of the Middle East.Anderson 2005, p. 65. During the closing years of World War I, the Ottomans had been driven out of their Arab territories by an alliance of Hashemite-led Arab rebels and British forces, and were thereafter replaced by the British and French, who effectively occupied the Arab territories. Revolts and popular opposition against European rule in Palestine, Transjordan and elsewhere in the region emerged in the 1920s and 1930s. In his memoirs, Abu Nuwar recalled that his teachers in al-Salt would tell him and his classmates that the "Arab Nation was colonized and fragmented and that it was on the shoulders of our generation to take responsibility for freedom and unity".Anderson 2005, p. 71.
Military career
Abu Nuwar joined the Arab Legion and was made an artillery officer in 1946, during the reign of Emir Abdullah I. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he served as a lieutenant. Afterward, he received training in the British staff college of Camberly for two years before returning to Jordan, which was formed out of Transjordan and the West Bank as a result of the 1948 war. Israeli gains during the war had caused an upswing in anti-colonialist and Arab nationalist militancy among numerous officers in the Arab armies who blamed their political and military leadership for the Israeli victories. They considered the old guard incompetent, corrupt and beholden to the colonial powers. Among these incensed officers was Abu Nuwar. Although he was not a founder of the "Free Officers", a Baathist-affiliated underground organization of anti-British Jordanian officers, he joined the group after being invited in 1950, following his return to Jordan.
Abu Nuwar became a vociferous critic of British aid to Jordan, viewing it as a form of dependency on Jordan's former colonial ruler, and of Glubb Pasha, the influential British officer in charge of the Arab Legion who was derided by Arab nationalists as a symbol of lingering British colonialism in Jordan.Shlaim, pp. 64–65. When Abdullah I was assassinated in 1951, Glubb and Prime Minister Tawfik Abu al-Huda's government discussed preventing Abdullah's son and heir apparent, Emir Talal, a sympathizer of the Free Officers, from being enthroned; Talal had been checked into a mental institution in Switzerland, but many Free Officers believed the British were fabricating Talal's mental illness to keep him out of Jordan. In response, Abu Nuwar sought to install Talal on the throne by force, and to that end he appealed for support from the Free Officers and sent Awni Hannun, a Jordanian military doctor, to bring Talal to Jordan.Massad 2001, pp. 170–171. However, Hannun was forbidden from meeting Talal due to visitation restrictions and was dismissed by Glubb for alleged incitement against British interests. Nonetheless, Talal was enthroned, and Abu Nuwar subsequently urged him to dismiss Glubb.Yitzhak 2012, p. 115. The latter feared Abu Nuwar's efforts posed a threat to British interests in Jordan, and thus directed Abu al-Huda's government to effectively exile Abu Nuwar from the country. The government complied, dispatching Abu Nuwar to Paris to serve as Jordan's military attaché in September 1952. Talal was later dethroned by parliamentary decision on the basis of his mental incapacity.Massad 2001, p. 171.
During his assignment in Paris, Abu Nuwar met King Talal's son and successor, Crown Prince Hussein, who frequently visited the city during weekend breaks from his training at the Sandhurst Military Academy. Abu Nuwar was keen to gain Hussein's favor and disseminate to him Arab nationalist ideas calling for an end to British influence in the Jordanian military.Shlaim 2007, p. 65. Hussein was enthused by Abu Nuwar, and after his enthronement in May 1953, Hussein attempted to have Abu Nuwar return to Jordan despite Glubb's reservations. In August, Hussein visited London where he invited Abu Nuwar and other like-minded officers, including Free Officer Shahir Abu Shahut, to meet with him.Massad 2001, pp. 172–173. There, Abu Shahut informed Abu Nuwar of the Free Officers' plans to "Arabize" the Arab Legion, i.e. remove the force's British leadership, including Glubb. Afterward, Abu Nuwar informed Hussein at a party celebrating his enthronement that he was a leading member of the Free Officers (though he was not) and communicated the group's desire to assert Arab command over the Arab Legion, an aim to which Hussein was receptive. Hussein was impressed by Abu Nuwar who vocally condemned the British presence in Jordan during the party, which earned Abu Nuwar cheers by Jordanian officers.
Aide-de-camp After Hussein returned to Amman, he continued to press for Abu Nuwar's return to Jordan, but Glubb consistently stalled efforts to reassign Abu Nuwar. Later in 1953, Hussein sent Abu Nuwar to confer with the strongman of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had recently toppled his country's pro-British monarchy.Massad 2001, p. 173. In 1954, Abu Nuwar was briefly brought to Amman for consultations with Hussein. Hussein ultimately bypassed Glubb and had Abu Nuwar permanently reassigned to Jordan in November 1955. Abu Nuwar arrived amid growing anti-British upheaval.Massad 2001, pp. 174–175. In a meeting between Glubb and Abu Nuwar, Glubb made clear his displeasure with Hussein's decision and threatened "shorten his [Abu Nuwar's] life" if he incited against British interests in the country. After being informed of the meeting, Hussein appointed Abu Nuwar as his senior aide-de-camp (ADC). Abu Nuwar was also promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
As ADC, Abu Nuwar was a major influence over then-20 year old Hussein and was constantly at his side, advising Hussein to dismiss Glubb and sever ties with the British.Shlaim 2007, p. 101. Hussein was also influenced by other Arab nationalist officers and personalities, including his cousin Zaid ibn Shaker, and the increasingly anti-imperialist and Arab nationalist political atmosphere in the country.Shlaim 2007, pp. 101–102. As a sign of his increasing nationalism and as a means to quiet political opposition to his rule, Hussein decided to dismiss Glubb.Anderson 2005, pp. 167–168. He coordinated with Abu Nuwar and other Free Officers to ensure that his impending dismissal of Glubb would not result in a revolt by the latter's supporters within the Arab Legion.Anderson 2005, p. 167. Thus, on 28 February 1956, Abu Nuwar was instructed to ready his troops, and he subsequently posted Free Officers at the Amman Airport, the major army base at Zarqa and in the vicinity of Glubb Pasha's Amman residence. After Abu Nuwar's positions were confirmed to him, Hussein conferred with his cabinet and dismissed Glubb on 1 March. Glubb complied with the order and departed Jordan the following day. Hussein then promoted Abu Nuwar to major-colonel and appointed Major General Radi Annab to Glubb's former position as chief of staff of the Arab Legion,Shlaim 2007, p. 107. which was concurrently renamed the Jordanian Armed Forces.
Chief of staff
On 24 May, Abu Nuwar was appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff following Annab's retirement. Glubb's dismissal was met with great enthusiasm among Jordan's inhabitants and Arab nationalists in and outside of the country.Shlaim 2007, pp. 106–107.Anderson 2005, p. 168. However, Abu Nuwar's ascendancy as head of the army was resented by its veteran Bedouin units; he was generally regarded as a competent staff officer, but did not have experience as a commander.Pearson 2010, p. 95. As part of his efforts to modernize the army, he mandated that education was a prerequisite for advancement, an act which disproportionately affected Bedouin officers, many of whom lacked formal education.Massad 2001, pp. 186–187. As a result of Abu Nuwar's measure, several senior Bedouin officers were retired or reassigned to non-command posts. To counterbalance opposition to him within the army's ranks, Abu Nuwar established the Fourth Infantry Brigade, which mostly consisted of Palestinians, who he believed would form an integral part of his power base within the military. Abu Nuwar's appointment also contributed to the increasing deterioration of ties between Jordan and the British government.