His Majesty King Abdullah II
Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah II's
by NBC's The Today Show with Katie Couric
16 September 2005
King
Abdullah discusses Hurricane Katrina, Iraq and al-Qaeda and terrorism
Katie Couric, co-host (Stevensville, Maryland):
One of the leaders attending President Clinton's conference is King Abdullah of
Jordan. On Thursday I sat down with his majesty, and since this has been one of
the deadliest weeks ever in Iraq I began by asking him about his reaction to all
the violence in his neighboring country.
His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan: It's something that I think rips at
the soul of all of us as we see this tragedy unfolding in Iraq, but I have to
believe that it has to get better. There are some practical issues that we have
to deal with. One is the constitution and the elections at--at the end of the
year.
COURIC: A new poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal says
58 percent disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the war in Iraq; 60
percent say rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast should be the priority
now. Obviously support for this war in this country is waning significantly.
What can you say to the American people to convince them that they should
continue to support this effort?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: Well, obviously, I mean, we're all devastated
by the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and, you know, I think there was an
outpouring of grief from all over the world that--that people had suffered as
they have. I mean, we in Jordan immediately provided two field hospitals and
Jordanians to be able to go and help their fellow Americans.
COURIC: I understand, though, you ran into some bureaucracy?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: We're very good at sending field hospitals. I
think the problem was it came down to legalities and insurance because we had
Jordanian doctors. But I think by that point the system had kicked in. We are
still providing goods. Maybe milk and--and other essential supplies for--for
people. So I think there is a common humanity that everybody wanted to rally
around America and Americans. So, obviously, Katrina is on the top of American's
minds.
But you know, Iraq is extremely important, and our concern is at this time when
we have the constitution being finalized and when we have elections at the end
of the year, we do need the presence of coalition forces to help the Iraqi
government create as much security as possible so that we can give the Iraqis
this chance.
COURIC: As you know, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq is a Jordanian named
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He takes responsibility for many of the suicide bombings
that have claimed many lives. He has also threatened your life. How much of a
concern is al-Qaeda and al-Zarqawi for you?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: Well, I think al-Qaeda is a concern for all of
us in the international community. European capitals have suffered, the United
States has suffered, and many countries in the Middle East, including Saudi
Arabia. So this is part of an international effort to wipe out these extremist
elements. I don't know if you know that more Muslims have been killed by these
people than any other religious group or society put together.
COURIC: Before heading here to the United States, your majesty, I know
that you and Queen Rania went to visit Pope Benedict XVI. How did you find him?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: Well, I actually found him an extremely humble
and extremely articulate and very intelligent man. He had a tremendous presence
about him. It was a wonderful meeting. We talked about the challenges that we
all face in our region, how we need to bring Christianity, Judaism and Islam
closer together because we do have this common bond.
COURIC: Do you think he will be a good partner in this process?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: Absolutely. We have a man that wants, as we
all do, to break down the barriers that separate all the different religions of
the world.
COURIC: You stopped in Washington to give a speech at a Catholic
university, and then I know you met with students, young people, from a variety
of religious backgrounds with Muslim, Jewish and Christian students. What was
that like, and were they receptive to your message?
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: Well the, you know, students, it's--it's
always a pleasure to meet with them because they have such energy and hope. And
again, in our part of the world 50 percent of the population is under age of 18,
and for me I think this is a tremendous potential for the future. And children
are very articulate and know what want. And they're not interested in--in
politics. At the end of the day they want to--to look the future, and I find
that very refreshing.
COURIC: His majesty King Abdullah of Jordan.