If you have a government that is elected, they need to do the hard work – because if they don’t, they won’t be around the next time the ballot box is open.
Peace with Israel is a strategic imperative for Jordan.
You’re always going to have extremists in every religion.
Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue. And, as a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound.
Chemical weapons are something that scares everybody.
I personally believe that any country that has a nuclear program should conform to international regulations and should have international regulatory bodies that check to make sure that any nuclear program moves in the right direction.
Many occasions I’ve sat down with Israelis to say, where do you see your country in 10 years time, and work me back, so we can figure out the synergies and the connections between Israel and the rest of the Arab world. No Israeli has ever been able to answer that question.
I believe nuclear energy in Jordan will be done in such a way where it is a public-private partnership so everyone can see exactly what’s going on.
I’ve benefited from the best of both societies and both cultures, East and West.
I’m easily entertained.
