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News Middle East
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Jordan king warns of civil wars
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King Abdullah said there could be three
civil wars in the Middle East by 2007 |
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The Middle East is on the verge of three civil wars - In Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories - unless urgent action is taken by the international community, King Abdullah of Jordan has warned.
He said that "something dramatic" must come out of George Bush's meeting with Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to stop the violence.
The United States must look at the "big picture" and seek Middle Eastern solutions involving all the regional players, he told ABC's This Week programme.
He said there would be another decade or two of violence if a regional peace process was not developed soon.
"We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands. And therefore, it is time that we really take a strong step forward as part of the international community and make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous crisis that I fear, and I see could possibly happen in 2007," Abdullah said.
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"Palestine is the core - it is linked to the extent of what's going on in Iraq [and] it is linked to what's going on in Lebanon"
King Abdullah of Jordan
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Bush to visit Amman
The US president will meet al-Maliki in Amman, the capital of Jordan, on Wednesday to discuss the way forward for Iraq.
Abdullah hoped al-Maliki would have ideas for Bush on how to be "inclusive" in bringing together different groups in Iraq.
"And they need to do it now, because, obviously, as we're seeing, things are beginning to spiral out of control ... there needs to be some very strong action taken on the ground there today," he said.
Iraq becomes a 'battleground for foreigners'
In a separate interview, Iraq's security adviser said that Iraq was already a regional battleground, with Islamic movements from several Arab countries funding the groups fighting the Iraqi government and the US army.
"It's not one country. It's not two countries. It is more than that," Mowaffak al-Rubaie told CNN's Late Edition.
"This is a fight, or this is a war between the extremists and the moderates in the whole region."
He added that Iran was "helping some of the extremist Shia groups in Iraq," but said there was no evidence Iran was helping al-Qaeda or anti-government fighters in Iraq.
Jordan's King Abdullah said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained the "emotional core issue" of the Middle East.
Jordan is home to the largest number of Palestinians outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Asked if Syria and Iran should be included in an international conference on the Middle East, he said: "the problem is, that America needs to look at it in the total picture. It's not just one issue by itself."
"Palestine is the core. It is linked to the extent of what's going on in Iraq. It is linked to what's going on in Lebanon. It is linked to the issues that we find ourselves with the Syrians. So, if you want to do comprehensive - comprehensive means bringing all the parties of the region together."
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