Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah II

NBC: 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 neighbouring country.

King Abdullah: 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.

NBC: A new poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal says 58 per cent disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the war in Iraq; 60 per cent 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?

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.

NBC: I understand, though, you ran into some bureaucracy?

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 finalised 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.

NBC: 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?

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.

NBC: 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?

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.

NBC: Do you think he will be a good partner in this process?

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.

NBC: 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?

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 per cent 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 they 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.

NBC: His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan.