Jordan Times
Sunday, July 4, 2004
King visits Mubarak
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday returned home after a
three-day UK visit to promote investment opportunities in Jordan.
On his way back to the Kingdom, King Abdullah visited Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak in a private clinic in Munich where he is recuperating after an
operation for a slipped disc, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Meanwhile, the King told BBC Newsnight on Thursday that the question of sending
troops to Iraq was an Iraqi internal affair. He stressed that “this is an Iraqi
decision and this has not been discussed with the Iraqis,” adding that he did
not think Jordanians were the right people for the job.
“Again, I would feel that we are not the right people. But at the end of the
day, if there is something that we can provide — a service to the future of
Iraqis, then we will definitely study that proposal,” King Abdullah said during
the interview (see
full text).
In statements to Agence France-Presse on Friday, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher
said King Abdullah's comments about sending troops to Iraq were a message of
support for Baghdad rather than an announcement of future deployment. “We have
no intention of sending troops at this time. [King Abdullah's] statement was a
statement of support for the Iraqi government rather than an announcement of
sending troops,” Muasher told the agency, adding that even Iraq does not want
troops on its territory from neighbouring countries.
AFP also quoted a Royal Court official as saying that the Monarch's statements
were “in the general context of giving a vote of confidence to the Iraqis” as
they progress with their newfound sovereignty. “He did not say `yes we want to
send troops'. He said if they ask we will study the proposal but nothing has
been yet asked and nothing has been discussed,” the official said.
Since the end of the war, Jordan has helped train hundreds of officers for
Iraq's new army and thousands of police recruits for the new police.
The King and senior Jordanian officials have repeatedly said that the Kingdom,
which contributes peacekeepers to UN missions in several world hot spots, was
not ready to send troops to Iraq.
Speaking to the London-based The Times, King Abdullah praised the new Iraqi
leadership, describing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as a “tough, good warhorse —
exactly what Iraq needs,” but warned that sectarian violence would continue in
Iraq and the Middle East faced a tough year fighting terrorism.
“I feel somewhat optimistic that we have strong, courageous leaders in Iraq,”
King Abdullah said.
He said the June 28 handover of power to the Iraqis had gone “fairly well” and
the new government comprised the best people that could be hoped for. He said
Jordan would now do what it could to support the new Iraq. He highlighted the
help Jordan has offered to post-war Iraq in the field of training Iraqi police,
army, aviation, customs and other personnel.
“There's been pretty comprehensive assistance from our government to their
government, giving them our knowledge.” But he warned that the new Iraqi
government had “tremendous challenges ahead of them, the priority being
stability.” The King reiterated that terrorism could not be beaten by killing
terrorists but by tackling its root cause and that meant the Arab-Israeli
conflict.
In the interview with the BBC, King Abdullah warned the US that lack of progress
in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was undermining America's hopes of
being seen as a peace-maker in the Middle East.
“Because people don't see the movement on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, they
look at Iraq and... they're very suspicious and they feel that this is just
another extent of occupation,” he said.
The issues of terrorism, peace, Middle East reforms were tackled in an address
King Abdullah delivered on Friday at the British-Arab Society, in which he
highlighted the values of moderation and tolerance in Islam and called for
efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in the region.
Hosted by Lord Mayor of the City of London Robert Finch at Mansion House, the
three-day Jordan Investment Forum was organised by the Jordan Investment Board
in coordination with the British industry and commerce chambers.
In his address to an audience including more than 120 representatives of British
firms, the King urged businesspeople from the Kingdom and Britain to set up
joint ventures and take part in rebuilding Iraq.