His Majesty King Abdullah II
His Majesty King
Abdullah's Interview with ABC's
"This Week with George Stephanopoulos"
November 26, 2006
STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning,
everyone. This week's flare-up of violence in Iraq has been met by a flurry of
new diplomacy. Vice President Cheney has just returned from a one-day visit to
Saudi Arabia, and President Bush is heading to Amman this week for a summit with
the Iraqi prime minister, hosted by our headliner this morning, King Abdullah of
Jordan.
Welcome back to THIS WEEK, Your Majesty.
HM KING ABDULLAH: Thank you very much, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Is this Amman summit the last chance to save Iraq?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, we hope that this is an opportunity for both President Bush
and Prime Minister Maliki to be able to come together in a common understanding
on how to bring the sectarian conflict much lower. We are very, very concerned
for the future of all Iraqis, and we hope that there will be something dramatic.
The challenges, obviously, in front of both of them are immense.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say, “something dramatic.” What could that be?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, we have to make sure that all parties in Iraq understand
the dangers of the ongoing escalation, and I hope that Prime Minister Maliki
will have some ideas to be provided to the president on how he could be
inclusive in bringing all the different sects inside of Iraq together. And they
need to do it now, because, obviously, as we're seeing, things are beginning to
spiral out of control.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Many here in the United States say that, if Prime Minister
Maliki doesn't come forward with that kind of a package, President Bush should
issue an ultimatum: It has to happen now or we're going to begin to withdraw our
troops from Iraq. Would that be useful?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, I'm not exactly privy to what the discussion points will be
between both sides. But there needs to be some very strong action taken on the
ground there today. Obviously, the indicators are of tremendous concern to all
of us, and I don't think we're in a position where we can come back and revisit
the problem in early 2007. There needs to be a strategy. There needs to be a
plan that brings all the parties together, and bring them today and not
tomorrow.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Is it a civil war in Iraq right now?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, George, the difficulty that we're tackling with here is,
we're juggling with the strong potential of three civil wars in the region,
whether it's the Palestinians, that of Lebanon or of Iraq. And I hope that my
discussions, at least, with the president will be to provide whatever we can do
for the Iraqi people. But at the same time, we do want to concentrate ourselves
on the core issues, which we believe are the Palestinians and the Palestinian
peace process, because that is a must today, as well as the tremendous concern
we've had over the past several days, what's happening in Lebanon. And we could
possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands. And
therefore, it is time that we really take a strong step forward as part of the
international community and make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous
crisis that I fear, and I see could possibly happen in 2007.
STEPHANOPOULOS: That is a frightening prospect, the prospect of three civil
wars. All three of those societies -- Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority
-- have had elections over the last couple of years. And now we're seeing the
prospect of civil war. Could the United States push too hard, too fast for
democracy?
HM KING ABDULLAH: The issue is not whether you're pushing one agenda or another.
The issue is, we have not been able to deal with the core problem of the Middle
East. Now, I know people will say that there are several core problems in the
Middle East. Obviously, the closest to American minds, because of your
commitments of soldiers is Iraq. But for the majority of us living in this part
of the world, it has always been the Israeli-Palestinian, the Israeli-Arab
problem. And I fear that if we do not use the next couple of months to really be
able to push the process forward, I don't believe that there will be anything to
talk about. In other words, there will not be enough of circumstances to create
a two-state solution -- in other words, Israel and Palestine living side by side
in peace and harmony. If we don't solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem, then
how can we ever solve the Israeli-Arab problem? And I don't believe that beyond
mid 2007, if we don't get the process going, there will be anything of a
Palestine to talk about. And therefore, do we resign this whole region to
another decade or two of violence, which none of us can afford.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Secretary of State Baker is considering just that prospect,
pushing for a comprehensive peace plan as he looks at solutions for Iraq, as
well. But help me out here. Doesn't the situation in Iraq now have a logic of
its own, the Sunnis and the Shiites killing each other in an uncontrolled
manner? What does that have to do with what's going on in Palestine?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, the thing is, as we look at the three potential flash
points, before, I believe, the Lebanese war this summer, I would have put Iraq
in the number one position. After the Lebanese war, the Palestinian scenario was
in the number one position, followed very closely in the past several weeks. I
would say that the Lebanese problem and the Palestinian ones are neck-in-neck.
They're all extremely important. Solving all three of them are going to be
critical. But the priority I believe today in the long term is the
Israeli-Palestinian one, because it resonates beyond the borders of Iraq, beyond
the borders of the Arab and the Muslim world. And you know, you've been with
this issue for many years. It is still the emotional core issue for our part of
the world. The problem when we discuss this sometimes with the American public,
they say, no, this is just an excuse, because there are other problems in the
Middle East. But the emotional impact that the Israeli-Palestinian problem has
on the ground can be translated to the insecurity and the frustrations
throughout the Middle East and the Arab world. For me, that is the priority.
When it comes to things exploding out of control, I would put today, as we
stand, Palestine and probably a close tie with Lebanon. Iraq, funny enough,
although as concerned as I am with Iraq and the major problems that that might
bring to us, is in third position. Obviously, this is all relative.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, one of the ideas for dealing with all three of these
conflicts is an international conference that would include Jordan, would
include Saudi Arabia, would include Egypt and include the United States, but
also Syria and Iran. Do you think it would be useful to include Syria and Iran
in that kind of a conference right now? And what kind of leverage does the U.S.
have over that?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, look. We always believe that dialogue is a way of reaching
out to each other. As we continue to push each other into corners, then the only
alternative is to have more of a violent reaction than common sense leading the
way. I do believe that there are feelers going to different countries to see if
we can come together on the issue of Iraq. But I think, the problem is, is that
America needs to look at it in the total picture. It's not just one issue by
itself. I keep saying Palestine is the core. It is linked to the extent of
what's going on in Iraq. It is linked to what's going on in Lebanon. It is
linked to the issues that we find ourselves with the Syrians. So, if you want to
do comprehensive -- comprehensive means bringing all the parties of the region
together.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And does it also mean -- when you talk about a reinvigorated
U.S. effort, what are you looking for exactly? What kind of a sign are you
expecting from the United States to prove that the Bush administration is
serious about seeking this kind of comprehensive effort? One idea being floated
right now is that former Secretary of State Baker be appointed a special envoy
by President Bush. Would that be useful?
HM KING ABDULLAH: Well, from my point of view, I've known Secretary Baker for many
years. He was a good friend of his late Majesty King Hussein. He has a
tremendous, strong reputation in this part of the world as being an honest
broker. Obviously, that's a decision for the American president and his
administration. But he is probably -- Secretary Baker is one of the qualified
(ph) people I've ever come across in being able to deal with Middle East issues.
STEPHANOPOULOS: King Abdullah, thank you very much for your time this morning.
HM KING ABDULLAH: Thank you.