To go out according to the Taif Agreement.
What does the presumed assassination of Hariri say about the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad? Must it go?
Syria is an independent country, and it is up to the Syrians how they deal with their government. I know people in the Middle East are sick of having their officials killed and assassinated. . . . The Lebanese are afraid to their core that the civil war will return.
Getting the message: A poster promoting an international conference on terrorism earlier this month in Riyadh.
(Zainal Abd Halim -- Reuters)
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Shifting to Iraq, how do you feel about the outcome of the election and how will a Shiite-dominated government in Iraq affect your country?
I don't think there is any reason to prefer a majority of one sect or another as long as the constitution ensures the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq. Democracy is not the right of the majority alone. It is also the protection of the rights of the minority.
Is the situation likely to descend into civil war?
People said before that elections couldn't happen, and they happened. People think a national consensus cannot be formed, but they may be proved wrong.
What would you like to see the Americans do in Iraq -- leave or set a timeline to leave?
I would like to see Iraq united territorially and its people united. Whatever help they need -- whether from the United States or elsewhere -- is up to the Iraqis. They say they need the U.S. forces to stay until they stabilize the country and elections are held and a permanent government is established.
Do you believe the U.S. can defeat al Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency?
I don't know. Al Qaeda is trying to do everything it can to survive the assault that is being waged on it and to disrupt any movement toward peace in the Middle East -- whether in Iraq or in Palestine. They use existing suffering to expand their recruitment and backing.
So they use the Palestinian issue?
They use every issue of suffering, injustice and double standard to their advantage.
How do you see the Palestinian-Israeli situation? How are your contacts with Palestinian President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas]?
