A mid democratic stirrings in the Middle East and continuing violence in Iraq, King Abdullah of Jordan spoke last week with The Washington Post-Newsweek's Lally Weymouth. Shortly before opening the World Economic Forum in Jordan, the king gave his assessment of the war in Iraq; his hopes for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and his views on a prospective pardon for Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi (once convicted of bank fraud in Jordan). He also outlined his plans for reform, which last month led him to reshuffle his cabinet. After the interview, the young monarch headed toward a waiting helicopter. Taking off his suit jacket, he rolled up his shirt sleeves and jumped into the pilot's seat to fly to Amman.
Excerpts:
Could you elaborate on rumors that you are going to pardon Ahmed Chalabi?
All that's happened so far is that [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, Ahmed 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.
Do you think these people will have to be reimbursed?
At the end of the day, we will have to figure out how to compensate these people.
How do you see the situation in Iraq?
I think at the end of the day Iraq will succeed and stand on its own two feet and be independent and completely capable. . . . 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, and I was very pleased to see that 8 million people went to the polls under the threat of the insurgents and terrorist attacks. It meant Iraqis wanted to take the risk for their future, and I think it can only get better from now on.
I am excited that all the different sectors of Iraqi society are beginning to reach out to each other. The level of success will be determined in the elections in December [after a new constitution is written] and what we are looking to achieve is an outreach between Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite factions.
Do you think the insurgency is largely fueled from outside or inside Iraq?
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 this time, it will be a disaster.
Do you think there will be a civil war in Iraq and the country will break up?
