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American Morning
Interview With King Abdullah of Jordan
Aired June 04, 2003 - 09:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In a matter of moments, we'll have the satellite synced up here and Christiane will be live with us. Her guest, a very special one. King Abdullah of Jordan.
That's a problem. Our apologies. We thought we had this thing lined up and ready to go. The king, I understand, is present and accounted for, and so too is Christiane Amanpour. So now we go again, third time is the charm. Here is Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Jordan's King Abdullah as you mentioned. President Bush paid tribute to the effort that Jordan has put into the peace process dating back from when King Hussein, the King's father, started and forged peace with Israel in 1994. President Bush saying that this was a fitting succession to that ongoing effort.
What did you come away with today, after the first meeting between President Bush and between the two prime ministers?
KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: Well, the first thing was, obviously, the impression of tremendous commitment by the president of the United States to make this thing happen, and he was extremely forceful in that the peace process needs to move forward, and from what we heard from the Palestinian-Israeli delegations, their willingness to work together with the Americans to move it forward. So I came away feeling that there is commitment by all three sides, and there is the dedication to see this through.
AMANPOUR: How labored, if you like, how much of a process was it to get all those words that came out into those two joint statements? The Palestinians to renounce any violence, to stop any incitement, or to end the armed intifada, the militarized part of the intifada, the Israelis to talk about two states and about an end to the illegal settlements?
ABDULLAH: Well, again, you have got to remember that the idea of the road map has been out there for a while, and so this is nothing new for the Israelis and the Palestinians, but furthermore, we see the role of the American administration, the visit of the secretary of state to the region recently. There's been a lot of homework to allow all three parties to achieve what they've achieved today.
AMANPOUR: And what do you now look forward to as we move forward with this process? Because there is not just hope but some skepticism. People are concerned about what might happen after initial confidence-building measures, and some potential initial progress. What do you think needs to happen if there's a situation that bogs it down?
ABDULLAH: Well, again, we have to understand that there are going to be some problems ahead of us, and one of the main issues that has been discussed by all parties over the past couple of days and again today is the issue of security.
Now, Prime Minister Abbas made a very strong commitment to renounce violence, to find a peaceful solution to move the Palestinian society forward in the way we want, but we have to understand that we need to support Abu Mazen on the ground to be able to be effective, so that the violence is lessened. So if something happens over the next couple weeks, we can't hold him directly responsible. He is committed to doing that, but he needs to be empowered, given the tools, given the capability on the ground to be able to enforce it. So I see this as one of the major problems that we have to understand the reasons behind and work through.
AMANPOUR: Yesterday at the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh between you, the president, and the other Arab leaders, the president called for a commitment and got a commitment by Arab leaders to stop any kind of funding for terrorism, no matter -- quote -- "the justification or the motive." What does that -- what onus does that put on you?
ABDULLAH: Well, on Jordan...
AMANPOUR: On the Arab world.
ABDULLAH: There are countries that have been always dedicated to fighting terrorism, so that is nothing new for us, but it is a clear message to those countries that have, maybe, relaxed attitudes to the way funding goes through NGOs. They have to be much more careful on where the money goes and how transparent funding is done in the Middle East, and a commitment from the leadership of the countries that were there to do the utmost to work together with the United States and with the partners to make sure that terrorism is really taken down a couple of notches.
AMANPOUR: And do you think there's a shift in the expressions amongst Arab leaders about suicide bombing? I mean, are Arab leaders now willing to say, no suicide bombings against innocent Israelis, period, end of story?
ABDULLAH: Well, I think that there are a lot of countries that have been saying things about suicide bombings for a while, but in a way, what happened in Saudi Arabia and Morocco were at home to a lot of Arabs and Muslims, which is something most of us knew anyway, that these terrorists, quite happy to take on the West, but I think, actually, the larger aims, it was always the Muslims that were in their sights. And as I said, I think, to you before, that these extremists are actually -- it's a power inside of Islam as opposed to an East/West conflict. So I think, now, those that were denying what was actually on the ground have begun to realize that extremism is a threat to everybody. AMANPOUR: And let me ask you why -- or if you trust the current Israeli prime minister to implement his end of the bargain, taking down settlements, freezing settlements, and all the difficult things that the Israelis will have to do as well?
ABDULLAH: Well, I think what can be said about both the president of the United States and what people can say about Prime Minister Sharon is that they're men of their words, and when they commit to something, we have to expect that they'll follow through.
It's going to be difficult, and we expect to have bumps in the road. But I'm pretty convinced that there's going to be an effort. And, again, the United States is going to put a lot of pressure to make sure Israelis and Palestinians commit to what they've said today.
AMANPOUR: A poll was released in the United States yesterday by the Pew Research Center, and it was very alarming. It talked about the incredibly negative views in the Muslim world towards the United States and towards President Bush in the aftermath of the Iraq war. It also said that one of the most revered or respected people in the world for Palestinians and for some other Muslim nations was Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda. I mean, what can your part of the world do to get out of that dynamic, or what burden is on the U.S. to get out of that dynamic?
ABDULLAH: To the extent, there is a lot of suspicion in the Middle East as to the intentions of people such as the president of the United States. And for the most part, you have had somebody like Osama bin Laden who has really been the only voice of -- of, sort of, ideology.
And I think the commitment of the president of the United States to come all the way to the Middle East, Sharm el-Sheikh, today in Aqaba, to commit himself fully to supporting the Israeli/Palestinian process and finding a true peace, I hope, shows a lot of people in this area that he does have a balanced approach, and the same commitment that he had for removing of Saddam, I think you'll see the same energy he will have in bringing justice to the Palestinians.
So I hope, as time goes on, that many of the skeptics out there will begin to realize that, No, this president actually means what he says.
AMANPOUR: King Abdullah, thank you so much indeed for joining us.
King Abdullah of Jordan who hosted this summit today. And as we've said, it was the first time the Israeli and the Palestinian prime ministers met together in public, and it's certainly the first time the United States has now, under President Bush, come to invest the full authority of the U.S. and the presidency in this process.
And as the king just said, many people in this part of the world are wondering whether the U.S., this Bush administration, is as successful at waging peace as it has been at waging war.
I'm Christiane Amanpour in Aqaba. Thank you for joining us.
HEMMER: It was worth the wait, Christiane. Thanks for that. Live in Jordan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 4, 2003 - 09:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In a matter of moments, we'll have the satellite synced up here and Christiane will be live with us. Her guest, a very special one. King Abdullah of Jordan.
That's a problem. Our apologies. We thought we had this thing lined up and ready to go. The king, I understand, is present and accounted for, and so too is Christiane Amanpour. So now we go again, third time is the charm. Here is Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Jordan's King Abdullah as you mentioned. President Bush paid tribute to the effort that Jordan has put into the peace process dating back from when King Hussein, the King's father, started and forged peace with Israel in 1994. President Bush saying that this was a fitting succession to that ongoing effort.
What did you come away with today, after the first meeting between President Bush and between the two prime ministers?
KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: Well, the first thing was, obviously, the impression of tremendous commitment by the president of the United States to make this thing happen, and he was extremely forceful in that the peace process needs to move forward, and from what we heard from the Palestinian-Israeli delegations, their willingness to work together with the Americans to move it forward. So I came away feeling that there is commitment by all three sides, and there is the dedication to see this through.
AMANPOUR: How labored, if you like, how much of a process was it to get all those words that came out into those two joint statements? The Palestinians to renounce any violence, to stop any incitement, or to end the armed intifada, the militarized part of the intifada, the Israelis to talk about two states and about an end to the illegal settlements?
ABDULLAH: Well, again, you have got to remember that the idea of the road map has been out there for a while, and so this is nothing new for the Israelis and the Palestinians, but furthermore, we see the role of the American administration, the visit of the secretary of state to the region recently. There's been a lot of homework to allow all three parties to achieve what they've achieved today.
AMANPOUR: And what do you now look forward to as we move forward with this process? Because there is not just hope but some skepticism. People are concerned about what might happen after initial confidence-building measures, and some potential initial progress. What do you think needs to happen if there's a situation that bogs it down?
ABDULLAH: Well, again, we have to understand that there are going to be some problems ahead of us, and one of the main issues that has been discussed by all parties over the past couple of days and again today is the issue of security.
Now, Prime Minister Abbas made a very strong commitment to renounce violence, to find a peaceful solution to move the Palestinian society forward in the way we want, but we have to understand that we need to support Abu Mazen on the ground to be able to be effective, so that the violence is lessened. So if something happens over the next couple weeks, we can't hold him directly responsible. He is committed to doing that, but he needs to be empowered, given the tools, given the capability on the ground to be able to enforce it. So I see this as one of the major problems that we have to understand the reasons behind and work through.
AMANPOUR: Yesterday at the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh between you, the president, and the other Arab leaders, the president called for a commitment and got a commitment by Arab leaders to stop any kind of funding for terrorism, no matter -- quote -- "the justification or the motive." What does that -- what onus does that put on you?
ABDULLAH: Well, on Jordan...
AMANPOUR: On the Arab world.
ABDULLAH: There are countries that have been always dedicated to fighting terrorism, so that is nothing new for us, but it is a clear message to those countries that have, maybe, relaxed attitudes to the way funding goes through NGOs. They have to be much more careful on where the money goes and how transparent funding is done in the Middle East, and a commitment from the leadership of the countries that were there to do the utmost to work together with the United States and with the partners to make sure that terrorism is really taken down a couple of notches.
AMANPOUR: And do you think there's a shift in the expressions amongst Arab leaders about suicide bombing? I mean, are Arab leaders now willing to say, no suicide bombings against innocent Israelis, period, end of story?
ABDULLAH: Well, I think that there are a lot of countries that have been saying things about suicide bombings for a while, but in a way, what happened in Saudi Arabia and Morocco were at home to a lot of Arabs and Muslims, which is something most of us knew anyway, that these terrorists, quite happy to take on the West, but I think, actually, the larger aims, it was always the Muslims that were in their sights. And as I said, I think, to you before, that these extremists are actually -- it's a power inside of Islam as opposed to an East/West conflict. So I think, now, those that were denying what was actually on the ground have begun to realize that extremism is a threat to everybody. AMANPOUR: And let me ask you why -- or if you trust the current Israeli prime minister to implement his end of the bargain, taking down settlements, freezing settlements, and all the difficult things that the Israelis will have to do as well?
ABDULLAH: Well, I think what can be said about both the president of the United States and what people can say about Prime Minister Sharon is that they're men of their words, and when they commit to something, we have to expect that they'll follow through.
It's going to be difficult, and we expect to have bumps in the road. But I'm pretty convinced that there's going to be an effort. And, again, the United States is going to put a lot of pressure to make sure Israelis and Palestinians commit to what they've said today.
AMANPOUR: A poll was released in the United States yesterday by the Pew Research Center, and it was very alarming. It talked about the incredibly negative views in the Muslim world towards the United States and towards President Bush in the aftermath of the Iraq war. It also said that one of the most revered or respected people in the world for Palestinians and for some other Muslim nations was Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda. I mean, what can your part of the world do to get out of that dynamic, or what burden is on the U.S. to get out of that dynamic?
ABDULLAH: To the extent, there is a lot of suspicion in the Middle East as to the intentions of people such as the president of the United States. And for the most part, you have had somebody like Osama bin Laden who has really been the only voice of -- of, sort of, ideology.
And I think the commitment of the president of the United States to come all the way to the Middle East, Sharm el-Sheikh, today in Aqaba, to commit himself fully to supporting the Israeli/Palestinian process and finding a true peace, I hope, shows a lot of people in this area that he does have a balanced approach, and the same commitment that he had for removing of Saddam, I think you'll see the same energy he will have in bringing justice to the Palestinians.
So I hope, as time goes on, that many of the skeptics out there will begin to realize that, No, this president actually means what he says.
AMANPOUR: King Abdullah, thank you so much indeed for joining us.
King Abdullah of Jordan who hosted this summit today. And as we've said, it was the first time the Israeli and the Palestinian prime ministers met together in public, and it's certainly the first time the United States has now, under President Bush, come to invest the full authority of the U.S. and the presidency in this process.
And as the king just said, many people in this part of the world are wondering whether the U.S., this Bush administration, is as successful at waging peace as it has been at waging war.
I'm Christiane Amanpour in Aqaba. Thank you for joining us.
HEMMER: It was worth the wait, Christiane. Thanks for that. Live in Jordan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
