To: King Abdullah II

From: Isadora Germain

Subject: Jordanian Policy Toward Syria & ISIS
The current situation in your great country of Jordan us sadly deteriorating at a steady
rate. You must feel trapped with both the rise of various terrorist groups and the Syrian Civil
War unfolding on all sides of your country. The protests in Syria against the President, Bashar al-
Assad have started an uproar between the government and the rebel groups, resulting in excess
amounts of violence. In Iraq, ISIS has become a major threat. Their militants have seized
numerous cities and towns, leaving their inhabitants with nowhere to go. The responsibility has
been put on you to maintain the security of Jordan while still accounting for the desperate
immigrants fleeing from Iraq and Syria.
Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general who lived from 544 to 496 BCE, wrote of his
military strategies in the book Art of War. Sun Tzus advice has remained relevant throughout
history, and I believe it is still very relevant in regard to your current foreign relations. Sun Tzu
explains that, in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak. The
strength of the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq is in their extremist leaders. The main weakness
of the terrorist groups you are up against lies within their organization and their recruiting
process. Your enemies are not as organized as is ideal. Their differentiating leaders, goals and
motives leave them vulnerable to conflict among one another and defeat. This can easily be used
to your advantage in knowing that your soldiers will be more numerous and more able to work
with one another than your enemys will. Many terrorist groups have used social media and other
forms of media to sway people to join their movement, their supply of recruits can easily be
decreased by combating their influence on the same mediums. The United States has already
started making persuasive ads against ISIS. You can deter terrorist groups from spreading by
understanding their disorganization and reducing their flow of new recruits.
I understand that it has been your main goal to remain as peaceful as possible during this
tumultuous time, however it is always important to remain prepared and have a plan for if the
worst were to occur. With so much violence occurring around Jordans borders, border security
must be one of your main concerns. Sun Tzu explains that, attack is the secret of defense;
defense is the planning of an attack. Defense is key to your country remaining safe in your
current situation. By focusing on mainly defensive strategies, your soldiers and military leaders
will be able to come up with more location specific, and goal-oriented plans. Relying mainly on
defensive strategies and a strong border security instead of on battles on foreign land will allow
your country to focus more on its domestic issues.
In order to reach the ultimate goal of overcoming your violent enemies that line Jordans
borders, you must remember to follow your countrys peaceful values. Sun Tzu explains that
winning, one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the
enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. Sun Tzu led his soldiers under the same belief that
peace should always be maintained and that war is a last resort option. Sun Tzu believes that the
acme of skill is to overcome your enemies without fighting. You can ultimately accomplish
this through appearing strong at all times and gaining from your enemys weak points. When
your military appears strong, even when in reality they are not, Jordan will be safer from terrorist
groups looking to infiltrate. Using your opponents weaknesses to your advantage will also
remain very important throughout this war on terror. These weaknesses will allow you to both
reach out to the youth being influenced by terrorist groups and be more organized and prepared
for any situation. With Jordans population at its peak along with the large number of innocent
immigrants right outside of your countrys border, the foundations of peace in your country are
more important now than they have ever been before.