A New Arab Peace Plan

By SCOTT MACLEOD/AMMAN

King Abdullah II of Jordan has few opportunities to relax. Speaking with TIME at Basman Palace last week, he spent a moment describing how he likes to take Queen Rania out for a spin on his Harley-Davidson and hopes to get the family, including two sons and two daughters, away for a picnic soon. Then it was on to business. While much of the interview focused on his uncharacteristically dark outlook on the Middle East--Abdullah, 44, is usually known for his optimism--he also revealed the outlines of a new Arab peace initiative, dubbed Beirut Plus (a reference to an Arab League initiative adopted in Beirut in 2002). The effort, which the King insists is "really one of the last chances" for peace, hopes to revive Arab-Israeli talks before the November elections in the U.S.

Five years after 9/11, has the war on terrorism made the world safer?

What it's done is make it more complicated. We are still not addressing the root causes. The Lebanese war dramatically opened all eyes to the fact that if we don't solve the Palestinian issue, the future looks pretty bleak for the Middle East. Unless we solve the core problems, terrorism in its strength will always be with us.

Why stress the Palestinian issue?

There needs to be some sort of Palestinian integral geographic state, today and not tomorrow. If we don't achieve that, the trend is maybe Israel doesn't want peace, maybe the Americans don't want peace. That's what we moderates are having to fight. We are running out of arguments. If we don't see tangible results on the ground by 2007, then I don't think there will ever be a Palestinian state. Then I think we are doomed to another decade or decades of violence between Israelis and Arabs, which affects everybody.

Why so dire?

A lot of people in the area feel that because Israel is not invincible, as people thought, maybe dialogue is not the way to discuss issues with Israel. The moderate voice now has been neutralized.

What can you do?

We are relaunching the Arab initiative, reaching out to the Israeli public, saying, Look, it is Beirut Plus now. There is movement by core Arab and Muslim countries [Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan], saying, Look, if we solve the Palestinian issue, it is one major step forward in bringing peace and stability to the region.

What's new with Beirut Plus?

The short-term objective is to get straight back to negotiations. But we want to jump ahead to something tangible. We need to get to the point where people want to sign on the dotted line. We want to move to a two-state solution, but we are not going to go back and forth with lawyers until we get there. We need to start building things on the ground. What we have seen with Israel and its Arab neighbors is a unilateral approach. I think it has finally dawned on our friends in Israel that that doesn't work.

What does this plan have for the Israelis?

Security guarantees by the Arabs. The assurance that they [the Israelis] are fully integrated--socially, economically, politically and culturally--into the Middle East.

Is the Bush Administration on board? The back-and-forth is very positive.

What about Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert?

He is a man that I trust will commit to peace and deliver.

Why should Israel deal with Hamas when you don't trust it either? I don't think that Israel is looking just at having a problem with Hamas. It is looking further afield and seeing major security challenges. There are other regional powers that are vying for supremacy in this area. Usually when that happens the net result is conflict and violence.

If you mean Iran, does President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad scare you?

Nobody scares me. I think part of the Iranian policy is to say, I am here, people, take me seriously.

How tough should the U.S. get with Iran over its nuclear program?

I don't think the Middle East could afford another war. And a war with Iran would open a Pandora's box, one that I don't think the Middle East would recover from.