'The Middle East Is Changing'

This past weekend, King Abdullah of Jordan played host to many dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, at a World Economic Forum meeting held at the Dead Sea. In his hotel suite, the young monarch spoke to Lally Weymouth of Newsweek and The Post. Excerpts:

Q. Do you think that the impact of the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq will have a long-lasting effect in this region if those that are involved are brought to justice?

A. It will be long-lasting due to the fact that there are other pictures and video clips that have not come out. Having said that, in the U.S. you have the rule of law, and if the rule of law takes place and those perpetrators are brought to justice, that will placate international opinion.

What is your assessment of the situation in Iraq?

Leading up to the handover, you are going to have even more of a rise of instability. There are elements in Iraq that are going to try to create sectarian violence. Those elements want to continue to do that because an unstable Iraq is where they can establish themselves.

Do you worry about a possible breakup of Iraq?

Even before the war, a lot of us in the international community focused on the threat of the breakup of Iraq. That was the major concern -- not so much the war, but what would happen after the war. And now, I think for the first time, many in the international community feel uncomfortable because that [breakup] seems to be more of a possibility than it did a year ago.

Are you concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq and the possibility of having a Shiite state on your border?

There is Iranian influence, but you can't say that is the only issue. We have to be very careful about how we integrate the Sunni sector back into Iraqi life. Identify once and for all the Baathists that are non grata, whether it is 100 or 10,000, so that the Sunni society knows that it has a stake in the future of Iraq and knows it has a role to play. At the moment, the Sunnis don't know.

You say identify the bad Baathists?

Identify them, but then let everybody else off the hook. As you are aware, if you wanted to be a teacher or an engineer, you had to be a Baath party member. . . . Let's once and for all clarify who are the bad guys and then bring the Sunnis into being part of the plan.

The other issue is the reconstitution of the Iraqi army. You don't take the top generals, but you work down from the rank of colonel or major. Now, because there is the issue of Fallujah and Najaf, you can't be too particular about who you pick. Dramatic times probably need dramatic solutions.

Do you see a link between the war in Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli peace process?

They sort of feed off one another. The core issue in the hearts of everybody in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian one.