Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah II

"King Abdullah:The World Has Changed'"

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:

Newsweek: Could you elaborate on rumours that you are going to pardon Ahmad Chalabi?

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.

Newsweek: How do you see the situation in Iraq?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: Do you think the [Iraqi] insurgency is largely fuelled from outside or inside?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: Do you think there will be a civil war in Iraq?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: How do you feel about the Bush administration's push to spread democracy in the Middle East? Is the American effort helpful?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: Were you surprised by the speed at which the Syrians moved out of Lebanon?

King Abdullah: I think Lebanon should be for the Lebanese. I am glad the Syrians also believe that they need to give the Lebanese independence.

Newsweek: Does it show weakness on the part of the Syrian regime?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: How do you see the Israeli-Palestinian situation?

King Abdullah: 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 US My concern is that we are running out of time on what we consider a viable, independent Palestinian state.

Newsweek: When you visited President Bush in Washington, did you ask him about the future of the Roadmap?

King Abdullah: 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.

Newsweek: Do you think Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [known as Abu Mazen] is doing everything he can to fight terrorism?

King Abdullah: To fight terrorism, I truly believe Abu Mazen is giving 110 per cent support. We need the US, 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.