ARAB INTELLIGENCE SERVICES IN THE CROSSHAIRS.

The article reports on the political developments in the Middle East. In May 2005, King Abdullah II of Jordan removed the powerful chief of his intelligence service with the avowed intention of reducing the role of that service in the Hashemite kingdom's political life. For decades, intelligence and security services in the Arab world have been untouchable, answerable to no-one but the political leaderships. But, amid a growing clamour in the region for greater democracy, Arab security services, widely feared and universally known by the generic term Mukhabarat (secret police), are coming under unprecedented scrutiny, and are being openly challenged by opposition movements to become more accountable.