Jordan's King to Focus on Peace
Mon Mar 11,12:18 PM ET
By JAMAL HALABY, Associated Press Writer
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - King Abdullah II is an eager backer of the U.S.-led war on
terror, but not one who wants to see it expanded to neighboring Iraq.
Setting the tone for his meeting with Vice President Dick
Cheney on Tuesday, Abdullah told an
envoy of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that
Jordan "rejects the use of force against Iraq."
"A strike on Iraq will be disastrous for Iraq and the region as
a whole and will threaten the security and stability of the
Middle East," Abdullah told Izzat Ibrahim on Sunday,
according to a palace statement.
Jordan is the first of nine Arab countries Cheney will visit on a 12-nation tour
that began with a stop in London on Sunday.
Cheney's trip is widely seen as an attempt to pacify opposition to attacking Iraq
and enlist Arab support for toppling Saddam. President Bush
has called Iraq part of an "axis of evil" that sponsors terrorism and seeks to build
weapons of mass destruction. He left open the possibility that it could be the
next target in Washington's war against terror.
Abdullah endorsed Bush's us-against-them stance during a visit to Washington
last month, but Jordanian officials later said their king did not specify which
countries he believed were part of the "axis of evil."
Jordan - a moderate nation with close ties to the United States that signed a
peace treaty with Israel in 1994 - has felt the menace of Osama bin Laden
the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the
United States.
A group of Arab men plotted to carry out terror attacks against Americans and
Israelis in hotels and tourist sites, using poison gas and explosives, during New
Year's 2000 celebrations in Jordan. The plot was foiled in November 1999.
Months later, bin Laden is said to have sent terrorists after King Abdullah and
his family as they vacationed on a yacht in the Mediterranean off the coast of
Greece.
Abdullah was the only Arab leader to dispatch troops to Afghanistan
despite opposition from clergymen who regard fighting other Muslims as
sinful.
Attacks on Muslims in Iraq would enrage many Jordanians. Jordanians have
been pushing their government to unilaterally lift 12 years of U.N. sanctions on
Iraq - their nation's main Arab trade partner.
Jordanian officials say attacking Iraq will antagonize a region already tense
because of daily images of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel. Many Arabs
regard Washington as biased in favor of Israel and bent on dominating their oil
wealth.
Peace in the Middle East would leave little room for international terrorism,
argues Abdullah. When Abdullah plays host to Cheney, he will appeal for
American pressure on Israel to resume talks with the Palestinians and cease
what is seen as excessive force in putting down the Palestinian uprising, said
Information Minister Mohammad Affash Adwan.
Abdullah, who is to meet Bush on the sidelines of an economic conference in
Mexico this month, reportedly hopes that Washington will press Israel to allow
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to attend an Arab summit in
Lebanon in late March.
Arafat had been confined by Israel to his Ramallah, West Bank, headquarters
since December. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
announced Monday that Arafat was free to travel in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip , but it remained unclear whether the Palestinian leader
would be able to attend the summit. Israeli officials said Arafat would have to
seek Israeli approval to go abroad.
Adwan said Abdullah will also explore with Cheney a peace initiative proposed by
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. The proposal calls for an Israeli pullout from Arab
territories in exchange for recognition from Israel's neighbors.
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