Hassan II of Morocco General Mohamed Oufkir, Morocco's defense minister, was the man behind the coup and was officially declared to have committed suicide after the attack. His body, however, was found with several bullet wounds. In the Cold War era, Hassan II allied Morocco with the West generally, and with the United States in particular. There were close and continuing ties between Hassan II's government and the CIA, who helped to reorganize Morocco's security forces in 1960. Hassan served as a back channel between the Arab world and Israel, facilitating early negotiations between them. This was made possible due to the presence in
Succession to the Jordanian throne without son or appointed brother, the throne devolves upon the person whom the National Assembly selects from amongst the descendants of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, the founder of the Arab Revolt. A person can be barred from succession by Royal Decree on the ground of unsuitability. His descendants would not be automatically excluded. King Hussein's brother, Prince Muhammad, was the heir presumptive to the throne until the birth of Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah. Abdullah was his father's heir apparent from his birth in 1962 until 1965, when King Hussein decided to appoint his 18-year-old brother Hassan as heir