King Abdullah II of Jordan said yesterday that it would be difficult for his country to say no if Iraq’s new government asks it to commit troops to stabilize the postwar security situation, although he seemed to discourage Iraq from making the request.
The king said he did not think that Jordan or any of the other countries surrounding Iraq was right for such a mission, because they would “all have sort of personal agendas.”
Abdullah said, “At the same time, this Iraqi government needs 110 percent support from all of us in the international community.
“So when the question was asked as theoretical, if the Iraqi government was to ask of our support, it would be difficult for us to say no, even though I don’t think we’re the right people,” he concluded yesterday on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
No Arab country is committing troops to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, although Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said last week that he has sought help from several Arab or Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh and Morocco, and from India, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.
Mr. Allawi’s apparent hope is that insurgents in Iraq will be less likely to attack Muslim troops. Several coalition members, meanwhile, have indicated that they intend to stay in Iraq for the long haul.
Abdullah said that from “a practical point of view, you know, we want to be there to share in the dangers that Iraq is going through.”
“The question really isn’t that,” he said, adding that Jordan has “troops committed in Afghanistan and in hot spots all over the world.”
“But we also have a history with Iraq, as does Syria, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,” he said. “So the question morally is: ’Would it be difficult for us to help the Iraqis by committing troops and not stay out of internal politics?’”
The king said his country is helping to track down Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab Zarqawi. U.S. and Iraqi officials have said that Zarqawi is the ringleader of an al Qaeda-linked movement behind multiple bombings and attacks in Iraq that have left hundreds dead and disrupted the nation’s postwar reconstruction.
In recent weeks, U.S. jets have consistently pounded suspected Zarqawi hideouts in Fallujah, about 30 miles west of the capital, Baghdad. Officials think he has been behind many kidnappings in Iraq and personally beheaded American Nicholas Berg in early May.
However, Abdullah said he thought that the press has portrayed Zarqawi as “much more capable, much smarter and much more of a threat than he actually is.”
“Having said that,” the king added, “we are working as part of the international community to track Zarqawi down, and hopefully, the net is closing in on him.”
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