A coalition of Jordanian political, legal, and public figures has issued a formal demand for the withdrawal of American military forces from the kingdom, framing the U.S. presence as a threat to national sovereignty rather than a security guarantee. The public letter, signed by hundreds, warns that Jordan’s close alliance with Washington endangers the country, a direct challenge to a partnership that has cost American taxpayers billions in foreign military financing.
Cost of Empire
The call for withdrawal comes amid a backdrop of decades of U.S. security assistance to Jordan, a spending stream that has consistently prioritized foreign military infrastructure over domestic American needs. For American workers, the financial equation is clear: resources channeled into bases like Muwaffaq Salti Air Base represent capital not invested in U.S. border security or domestic energy independence. This latest protest underscores the fragility of alliances built on aid packages, where the host population views the American footprint not as protective, but as a magnet for conflict.
“Our alignment with foreign military powers has corrupted our own policy independence and placed a target on our nation,” the letter states, reflecting a nationalist impulse that mirrors growing sentiment in parts of the American electorate regarding foreign entanglements.
The July incident in which U.S. troops were killed at the Al-Azraq facility has clearly accelerated this domestic pressure campaign within Jordan, eroding the public’s willingness to host forces for a strategy that serves regional interests, not necessarily Jordanian ones. The signatories, who include prominent legal minds, have placed the monarchy in a difficult position, pitting public opinion against a longstanding military arrangement backed by powerful defense-industry lobbying in Washington.
For the United States, the demand represents another moment of reckoning for a global posture that extends American commitments while the home front contends with open-border policies and industrial decay. A forced withdrawal would not only alter the map of military logistics but would also save American taxpayers the direct costs of operating in the region. The current reality on the ground suggests that foreign bases, much like unsustainable trade agreements, outlast their utility and can actively destabilize host nations.