Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Late-in-life peacemaker

THE LITTLE KING is dead! He left behind a plethora of goodwill and hopes for a lasting peace in the Middle East. Jordan's King Hussein bin Talal's search for peace can now only be carried on by his son King Abdullah II, whose success or failure can also affect the world.

King Hussein hasn't always been my favorite public figure on the world stage. I've had the opportunity to watch him lead his country through a maze of dangers during the last 47 years. Nobody can ever question his ability to survive and, under difficult circumstances, improve the living conditions of his people. This can be said of very few, if any, other living rulers in that part of the world.

Personally, I have long questioned his true desire for peace other than its value to him as the leader of a very small nation in a tough neighborhood. Long before knowing he was communicating secretly with the Israelis I questioned their affection for him. I should have realized that the Israelis would have, if at all possible, back channels open with their neighbor. The founder of this newspaper, the late Hank Greenspun, took great pains to educate me about the politics of the Middle East. He also explained the delicate role Hussein was playing behind the scenes.

Very frankly, the Israeli people have come to love Hussein and view him almost as a relative. They weren't always pleased with him but even during some of the tense periods of time the people in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were willing to make excuses for him. Yes, and in 1994 sign a meaningful peace with him.

I experienced a good example of Israeli excuse-making during the Persian Gulf War. It was in 1991 when the king sided with neighboring Iraq and Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles were landing on Israel. Jordan's king boldly announced that Israel wouldn't be allowed to overfly his country to retaliate for the missile strikes. The king went on to berate the allied forces and the United States for attacking the Iraqi forces that had invaded Kuwait. Following several hours in a sealed room during a missile attack I asked some people in the streets of Tel Aviv about the king's remarks. Their general response was that he was in a very bad position and to survive couldn't do anything else.

Such answers from the Israelis were especially shocking considering that King Hussein had his army join the Egyptians when they attacked Israel in 1967. He paid for that indiscretion by losing the area referred to as the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This loss encouraged him to sit out the 1973 Arab war against Israel. Incidentally, he was also punished by Kuwait following the Gulf War. That small but wealthy country deported several thousand Palestinian workers back to Jordan, where they had been sending money for many years. This caused much economic pain for the king and his country.

Having a touch of Irish amnesia -- that's when a person forgets everything but his enemies -- it was difficult for me to understand the feeling for Hussein in Israel. Two years ago, the king showed me one good reason they were so willing to forgive his foibles. A deranged Jordanian soldier fired into a group of Israeli students and it was Jordan's ruler who came immediately to comfort the children and their families. He left no doubt about his personal concern for their losses and suffering and knelt before a dead girl's family to express his sorrow.

I also remember the feelings expressed by Israeli soldiers when touring Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. Israel has retained the bunkers and fighting positions its soldiers took from the Jordanians in the 1967 War. Almost 20 years later an Israel Defense Forces sergeant stressed the heroism of the Jordanians who died fighting to hold the position. He spoke with great respect for the Jordanian soldiers. This respect between fighting men isn't uncommon when the combat has been hand-to-hand and in the close quarters of trenches. Nevertheless, I've never heard IDF soldiers speak with the same respect for other troops who have invaded their country.

My most cogent memory of King Hussein will always be his appearance at the Wye Plantation last year. He was pale and frail as he joined in the peace talks after leaving a hospital only hours earlier. It was Jordan's king who arrived to hold the hands of Yasser Arafat, Benjamin Netanyahu and President Clinton to promote peace. Death wasn't far away, but the king was thinking about the future of his people and the Middle East.

It's no wonder that the people of Israel loved their neighbor and wanted him as a friend, not an enemy. For the same reason, Presidents Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford flew to Amman to pay their respects to their friend with a big heart who helped to make a difference for his people and all others who seek peace.

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