Jordan may be willing to be the first Arab country to send troops to Iraq if asked by the interim government, King Abdullah told the BBC in an interview broadcast Thursday evening.
"If the Iraqis ask us for help directly, it will be very difficult for us to say no," he said.
The king qualified his remarks by saying he did not think Jordan was right for the role. Asked whether this meant sending troops, he said: "I presume so. I would feel that we are not the right people. But at the end of the day, if there is something that we can provide, a service to the future of the Iraqis, then we will definitely study that proposal."
Abdullah backed the new government, referring to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as a "tough, good warhorse, exactly what Iraq needs" in an interview with Friday's Times.
"I'm pretty impressed with the Iraqi interim government," he said.
But he also warned that violence in Iraq would continue and that the Middle East faces a tough year fighting terrorism.
Abdullah said Jordan was already helping to train the Iraqi police and army by providing assistance to the customs department and helping the ministries responsible for infrastructure.
On terrorism in the Middle East, the king repeated his view that terrorists could not be beaten by killing them, but rather by tackling terrorism's root cause.
"The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is the greatest way of shutting down the recruiters" for terrorism, he said.
Abdullah backed political reform throughout the region, saying violence in Iraq should not be an excuse for Arab governments to delay reform.
"There is tremendous frustration in the Middle East that makes political reform a bit more difficult in some countries than others," he added.
Referring to regional democratization, he told the Times: "What was almost taboo six months ago is now openly spoken about and discussed throughout the Middle East."
Abdullah told the Times he had tried to persuade other Arab leaders of the need for reform.
"My advice to any colleagues who wanted to listen was: If you don't come up with your own principles of reform, then you may find that one is forced on you which would be tremendously negative," he said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
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