Americans Advised to Depart From Jordan : Travel: U.S. citizens have not been targets of violence. But the State Department seems wary of Amman’s support of Iraq.

AMMAN, Jordan — The U.S. State Department on Monday advised Americans in Jordan to leave the country, apparently reflecting the uncertainty that has developed because of Jordan’s support for Iraq in the crisis over Kuwait.

The State Department also advised Americans to postpone any non-essential travel to Jordan.

Embassy spokesman Jonathan Owen said the embassy is permitting lower-level staff members and staff dependents to leave “on a voluntary basis.”

It is not known whether any Americans in Amman are making urgent plans to leave. Owen would not say whether any embassy personnel or dependents are leaving. About 4,000 Americans live in Jordan.

A number of anti-American demonstrations have taken place in Jordan since the United States sent troops to Saudi Arabia to discourage any further Iraqi expansion after Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2.

Demonstrators have burned the U.S. flag and chanted “Death to America!” Americans have not been the targets of any violence, and in fact those who attend the anti-U.S. demonstrations are sometimes assured by Jordanians that there is nothing “personal” in the flag burnings.

Jordan’s King Hussein has described his neighbor Iraq’s invasion as justified and condemned the response by U.S. and other Western governments as a colonial venture. The Arab people, he said, will react angrily if Iraq goes to war with the United States.

Early in the crisis, the king was asked whether American citizens are safe in the Middle East, and he answered: “I honestly cannot tell categorically, but I believe that Arabs are hospitable people and that hopefully they would not harm those who are among them as their guests.”

Hussein has tried to soften his position by insisting that being on good terms with Iraq makes it possible for him to mediate between Baghdad and Washington.

But this self-appointed role has led Jordan to maintain silence on daily developments. On Monday, Jordan had no official comment on Iraq’s decision to detain foreigners against their will and to disperse them among military bases, weapons factories and other possible military targets.

A high-ranking Jordanian official asked about Jordan’s position on the hostages replied, “We have to keep communication open with both sides.”

And despite Hussein’s assurances to President Bush, Jordan has also failed to implement a United Nations embargo on trade with Iraq.

Public opinion appears to support the king in his tilt toward Iraq. Jordanians, more than half of whom are Palestinians, see Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (no relation to the king) as a bulwark against Israel and perhaps a means of freeing Palestinians from Israeli rule.

Jordanians in the street, unlike their government, have been unrestrained on the hostage issue. It is difficult to find anyone who would condemn outright the seizure of the hostages.

“I am against taking hostages in principle,” a newspaper columnist said, “but I find myself taking the Iraqi viewpoint. Why should just Iraq suffer? Is not the whole country hostage to an attack? Are we in Jordan not going to suffer if war breaks out?”

A student encountered in a restaurant remarked, “Let the Americans get a taste of what it is like to be under threat.”

Some Palestinians complained about the attention paid to foreigners while the plight of Palestinians in the Israeli-held West Bank and Gaza Strip has been all but forgotten.

One, Mohammed abu Samir, said: “No one is sending armies to free Palestinians. Why are only the hostages important?”

Some Jordanians expressed concern that the widespread acceptance of hostage-taking in Iraq suggests the emergence of something ugly in Jordanian society. A political scientist who asked not to be named said: “This crisis is bringing things out we would rather not see. If we can accept the hostage-taking, what will we accept next?”

A campaign has been started to collect money for milk on grounds that the U.S. blockade of Iraq will soon create shortages.