Jordan's King Abdullah II Echoes My Thoughts on Iraq

In an interview yesterday with Alan Cowell of the New York Times, King Abdullah II of Jordan offered his thoughts on the future of Iraq, opining that it should be run by a strongman, possibly one drawn from the ranks of Saddam Hussein's army.

I would say that the profile would be somebody from inside, somebody who's very strong, has some sort of popular feeling. I would probably imagine - again, this is off the top of my head - somebody with a military background who has experience of being a tough guy who could hold Iraq together for the next year.

He suggested that some officers might not be acceptable:

There were a lot of heroes; there are strong community leaders who are products of the Iraq-Iran war" of the 1980's. They are national heroes that do appeal to the Iraqi street.

This, of course, echoes what I have been arguing for over a year. (May 18, 2004)

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