Jordanian honor guards perform during a ceremony to honor war veterans and retired servicemen during Veterans Day, as part of celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, February 15, 2016.
Jordanian honor guards perform during a ceremony to honor war veterans and retired servicemen during Veterans Day, as part of celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, February 15, 2016.
Muhammad Hamed / Reuters

At first glance, Jordan would appear to be a prime target for the self-proclaimed Islamic State (also known as ISIS). For one, ISIS has struck almost all of Jordan’s neighbors. In May 2015, there was the bloody attack in a Saudi Arabian mosque; in November, a Russian plane in Egypt came under attack. ISIS hit an Iraqi shopping mall in January 2016, and it has targeted Syrian regime troops for two years now. Since 2014, ISIS has killed 18,000 Iraqi civilians. In 2015 alone, it killed approximately 2,000 Syrians.

Further, the Hashemite Kingdom’s economy faces serious challenges, with youth unemployment at 28.8 percent, according to

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