The barely ended year saw the region inflame again, with political and religious conflicts raging across it with renewed force.
According to UN sources, no less than 8,000 people were killed in Iraq during 2013, in the course of fighting between government forces and radical Sunni movements.
A few days ago, the government deployed its air force to bomb the Anbar and Ramadi regions to dislodge militias belonging to extremist elements associated with Al Qaeda, whose goal is to control the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
The Sunni hardliners in Iraq are now fighting the Shiite-led government and are poised to claim control over certain areas of the country.
The infighting in Iraq resembles a lot the warfare in Syria, where government forces are pitted against radical Sunni forces aligned with Al Qaeda.
There, the Free Syrian Army has lost its claim as the main opposition force in the battle against Damascus, leaving the place to all and sundry, mostly radicalised militias trying to impose their rule and ideology on the helpless population.
The Syrian conflict has already spilled over into Lebanon, where terrorist attacks by both Shiites and Sunnis have become a common occurrence, taking innocent lives in a tit for tat and a show of power.
This makes finding a solution to the Syrian conflict that much more pressing.
There is no reason to believe that all this regional sectarian warfare would spill over into Jordan.
Jordanians are much wiser and they are learning from the countries around.
Yet, one cannot impress enough the fact that authorities need to adopt — and we are certain they have adopted — measures to preempt any such ominous development.
