His Majesty King Abdullah II
The Last Word: King
Abdullah
'The World Has Changed'
May 30 2005 Issue
Newsweek International
May 30 issue - Last week King
Abdullah sat down at the start of the World Economic Forum in Jordan and gave
NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth his assessment of the war in Iraq, his hopes for the
ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his views on a prospective pardon for
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi (once convicted of bank fraud in
Jordan). The young monarch also praised President Bush's calls for democracy and
outlined his own plans for political reform. After the interview, the king drove
to a waiting helicopter. Jumping out of his car, he took off his suit jacket,
rolled up his shirt sleeves and climbed into the pilot's seat to fly back to
Amman.
Interview excerpts:
WEYMOUTH: Could you elaborate on rumors that you are going to pardon
Ahmad Chalabi?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: [Iraq's] President [Jalal] Talabani asked me
to look into the Chalabi case to see if we can't find a solution to the problem.
Obviously, Ahmad Chalabi is a senior member of the Iraqi government, and we
believe in a strong relationship with Iraq, so we should put our best efforts
into solving this problem. The issue with Chalabi is an economic problem, not a
political one. It is [about] money owed to people, not to the government.
How do you see the situation in Iraq?
I think at the end of the day Iraq will succeed and stand on its own two feet
and be independent...The Iraqis have matured over the past several months, and
they believe that they have to make Iraq for Iraqis. I think that the turning
point was the elections on January 30. They were successful beyond my
expectations, if I can be that honest.
Do you think the [Iraqi] insurgency is largely fueled from outside or inside?
I think there is an element of outside insurgents, but there are still those
Baathists or members of the Saddam-era security forces that feel isolated from
the process. We are working to try to reach out to the Sunni society in Iraq and
to convince them that they are part and parcel of the future of Iraq. They need
to be included and to start talking to the new Iraqi government. If they sit the
elections out [scheduled for December], it will be a disaster.
Do you think there will be a civil war in Iraq?
I do not believe that Iraq will go into civil war or break up. I think the
majority of Kurds, Shia and Sunnis want to save their country.
How do you feel about the Bush administration's push to spread democracy in
the Middle East? Is the American effort helpful?
I think it is helpful. President Bush actually triggered reform in that it
became a subject for debate. If you look at the Palestinian and Iraqi elections
in January, I think that set the tone. So what is happening around [us] is a
good signal for Jordan that we need to continue the pace of reform, if not
accelerate it. I felt that the pace of reform in Jordan was not moving fast
enough, so we went through some government changes to be able to move the pace
of reform at the level that we wanted.
Were you surprised by the speed at which the Syrians moved out of Lebanon?
I think Lebanon should be for the Lebanese. I am glad the Syrians also believe
that they need to give the Lebanese independence.
Does it show weakness on the part of the Syrian regime?
I'd like to think it is a greater understanding by the Syrian leadership that
the international community has certain standards and ways of doing things. The
world has changed.
How do you see the Israeli-Palestinian situation?
Cautiously optimistic, but I am also concerned that we do have a time issue. We
are all concentrating on Palestinian security—[but] what happens after the
withdrawal from Gaza? Do we still have the Road-map? What we need is more
clarity and maybe more directives from the U.S. My concern is that we are
running out of time on what we consider a viable, independent Palestinian state.
When you visited President Bush in Washington, did you ask him about the
future of the Roadmap?
I did, and he was very forthcoming on his support for the peace process... When
Prime Minister Sharon came to visit Bush after my visit—we need to know in
transparent detail what [they were] talking about. We know the Israelis are
dedicated to pulling out of Gaza, but we still are unclear on what happens after
that.
Do you think Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas [known as Abu Mazen] is
doing everything he can to fight terrorism?
To fight terrorism, I truly believe Abu Mazen is giving 110 percent support. We
need the U.S., the Israelis and the international community to help strengthen
Abu Mazen's capability. It comes down to financial support. He needs to show the
Palestinians that today is better than yesterday.
© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.