HALF A BILLION A YEAR FOR THIS!

The US gives a lot of money to Jordan. For 2009, this figure was about $513 million. Why? Because Jordan plays nice with its neighbor to the west, they are serious about security, and they abhor terrorism. So in some ways US citizens have it good over here. We are not bothered out of the fear that any incident might make that big pile of money go away. All that being said, there is a fair deal of corruption here with the police. On average they make around $500 a month. It is not uncommon for them to ask for a bribe or for a police officer to put up major obstacles if one isn't offered. So has been my experience in renewing my visa. When you enter the country you buy a 1 month visa for $15. After that expires you can go to the police station and have it extended free of charge for 2 more months. But nothing here is easy. There is always some reason why I can't get mine renewed (I've done it three times now). "We are closed today", "no ink for the stamp", "no change for the fine", etc. The most recent excuse was that I need to get an AIDs test! I'm told it's a new law that was recently passed (even though the King dissolved the elected Parliament a month ago). There are very few Americans living in Jordan, and I can only imagine the percentage of those with AIDS is a fraction of a percent. So why make it hard for the citizens' of a country who built your power plants, provide you with water, fund your military, and bail you out of debt? Jordan is simply doing the right thing in its diplomacy, and we pay them handsomely for that choice.

Update: Just to clarify, I am currently visiting Jordan on a tourist visa. Because of this, I am required to leave the country every 3 months. The new "law" requiring AIDS tests is for all tourists wishing to stay in Jordan more than 30 days. This test is also required for those expats wanting Jordanian residency. In the case of achieving residency, the AIDS test seems fair as you become eligible for social security and low cost health care. So instead of dealing with the whole mess I went to Dubai for the weekend. Problem solved, at least for another 30 days.