King Abdullah:
Well, obviously we were devastated by what we saw. I was actually in an aircraft flying to the United States to see our friends in America and see the President later that week.

I don't think there's anybody in the world that wasn't shocked and stunned by what had happened to our friends in the US. But this is a time when you can count on friends and you have a lot of friends in my country

We had really very little understanding - we were sitting in an airplane and we got a call that an aircraft had crashed into one of the towers and we really didn't understand the scope of it.

Actually, it was my wife that managed to call me a bit later and said - look its very serious and so we went into the cockpit and actually got the BBC World Service and then we began to understand the extent of what happened on that day, and it wasn't until we saw the images as we turned around and came back to London to refuel that I managed to find a television set and look at the images of the aircrafts that we suddenly saw the extent of the horror of what was happening in the United States.

I don't think there's anybody in the world that wasn't shocked and stunned and grief-stricken by what had happened to our friends in the United States.

But this is a time when you can count on friends and you have a lot of friends in my country - I hope you consider me a friend - and in this very difficult time the friends of the United States will stand with America, side by side. Whatever the challenges are in the future, we'll take them on together.

Maria Martinez:
But what do you say about the response - the bombings in Afghanistan?

King Abdullah:
Well, obviously there is a military objective there that has to be seen through, and we've got to remember what the objectives are. It is not only to bring down international terrorism - which will obviously take a much longer time - but there is a specific problem with Osama bin Laden and the Taleban.

I know that all the military planners in the United States and in the coalition are trying to do their best to do this as quickly as possible with the least amount of damage to Afghanistan and the Afghan people. But as always in the fog of war, there's going to be casualties and collateral damage.

But I know, having worked with your armed forces in your country and the people that are in positions of command there, they're doing their best that they can to do this as quickly and as painlessly - if we can say it that way - as possible.

Alan Hodgson, London, UK:
In order to effectively combat terrorism, surely we first need a working definition. How would you define terrorism?

King Abdullah:
Again this is going to be a problem for the international community on how do actually define terrorism, because in one country - or to one group of people - the word might mean something completely different.

To me a terrorist is somebody who voluntarily takes the lives of innocent people.

Having been a soldier, it's fairly clear in my mind what a terrorist would be and if I can say what a terrorist is as opposed to what he is not. Anybody who takes the lives of innocent people - if somebody puts a backpack of explosives and goes to a pizza restaurant and blows himself up and kills innocent people, that is a terrorist.

Where it becomes a bit greyer - if you have an individual that takes on and kills people of the armed forces. That's where the definition between terrorism and freedom fighter is a bit more grey. But to me a terrorist is somebody who voluntarily takes the lives of innocent people.

Aymen al-Ansari, Norway:
How is Jordan participating in the coalition against terrorism? Is it only a symbolic act or are you offering something practical to the coalition?

King Abdullah:
Well we don't like to do things just for the sake of being symbolic. From day one we were very clear on our position.

We will do whatever is required to join the international coalition to combat terrorism

We'll do whatever it takes to help our friends to fight international terrorism and again as a reminder, there have been, in our history as a new nation, more Jordanian diplomats and officials that have been killed or wounded by terrorism than any other country in the region including Israel.

So we have been fighting terrorism for 40 to 50 years and as a result you won't get shady stances from Jordan. We're committed and we will do whatever is required to join the international coalition to combat terrorism.

Bridget Kendall:
You don't think that would make a problem for Jordan in the Muslim world, the Arabic world, where the response to what the Americans are doing in Afghanistan has been, in some cases, quite hesitant and in other cases ambiguous?

King Abdullah:
Again this is a very sensitive issue simply because there are many frustrations in our part of the world dealing with a lot of conflicts in the Middle East, and so there are a lot of people in the Arab and Muslim world that see there is maybe a double standard approach by the West in dealing with some things with more bias than others.

Therefore, when you have a problem, as you have now, with Osama bin Laden, or with Afghanistan, those sensitivities are going to rise. But I think that that we understand that there is a clear threat to the international community and that clear threat, at this stage, is Osama bin Laden, not Afghanistan or the Afghan people.

And I so I think that you will see that the Jordanian Government response will be very specific to that.

Noam Rosen, Toronto, Canada:
First of all I would like to compliment you on your moves in the Middle East towards peace. I think you are doing an excellent job of moderating the positions between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

My question for you is what do you think the best way of expressing sympathy for the innocent victims of this war, while at the same time supporting the US-led fight in Afghanistan? How do you do that without cancelling out the other?

King Abdullah:
This is the problem that whenever you have conflict with evil, there are going to be casualties of innocent people and it's whether we are going to be resolute.

We wouldn't want the operations to go more than a single second longer than it has. But having said that, we do have a problem. We have to deal with it.

Obviously, I think, whenever you embark on a military operation or there is a military objective, it has to be thought through very well. But once you think you it through, it has to be carried through with unflinching resolve and you have to achieve your aims at the end of the day.

So it is a very delicate balance. I think that the planners in the coalition are, as we all are, very sensitive to the innocent people. But at the same time if we don't deal with the problem we're just going to have to revisit it again. As a result, there are discussions of whether this war should continue into the month of Ramadan or longer, I think that any human being would want confrontation or violence to cease as quickly as possible.

So we wouldn't want the operations to go more than a single second longer than it has. But having said that, we do have a problem. We have to deal with it and we have to pray to God that we are smart enough to do it with the least amount of innocent people being caught up in it. It's very, very difficult.

Arif Goraya, NYC, US:
We all feel angry about the events of 11 September, but why is your government not protesting the killings in Afghanistan? Does that mean that Afghan blood is cheaper than in the United States?

King Abdullah:
There is no way of answering the first question that was put to us. No life is cheaper than anybody else's and this is what has to be remembered.

When Osama bin Laden brought aircrafts to crash into the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, he didn't care which lives he was affecting - Jordanians died [as did] many nationalities - I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of Afghans died in those particular targets also.

No life is cheaper than anybody else's and this is what has to be remembered.

But there is an evil out there that we have to deal with. It is unfortunate for the Afghan people that Osama bin Laden has decided to make his base of operation in Afghanistan and I feel very sore.

I believe that the majority of Afghans are saying - who is Osama bin Laden and why has he brought this on us. I think there has to be tremendous sympathy for the Afghan people. They have been left on their own for many, many years throughout the crises their country has had to suffer.

But I can reassure you also that having talked to the United States administration and to European leaders that although we are seeing the suffering of what the bombings may be inflicting on the Afghan people, the next stage will be finally to try and solve the problems of Afghanistan - to rewrite the economic and social problems that that country has and get them back on their own two feet - otherwise what is the future of the Afghan people?

So we have to put up with this military stage but I think there is an understanding from the international community that after the military stage we have to bring money, finance - you have to help the people be able to govern themselves. The President said, I am not about nation-building, I am here to resolve the issues.

Aziza Wayezi, Maryland, US:
Good morning your Majesty. I just wanted to ask your views about air strikes or military action Afghanistan in the holy month of Ramadan.

King Abdullah:
Well obviously if you are talking from a religious point of view, all of us would like to see the military conflict in Afghanistan, as I have just said, bought to a resolution as quickly as possible.

But if we want to get into the religious aspects of things, religious holidays such as Ramadan or any other from any other religion, has never been a subject of whether war should be carried out or not.

Obviously whenever there is religious holidays, it is much more sensitive for people - whether it's Christians or Muslims in this case - Ramadan is on the verge of happening and so is Christmas and I think that increases the imperative for the military commanders in the coalition to try and bring this to a quick resolution.

Aziza Wayezi:
I have had this fear for many years and it has been realised that I know Afghanistan would have to pay for having Osama bin Laden as its unwanted guest. However, being of Afghan origin and a Muslim, I understand the need for the military action in Afghanistan against the Taleban and the al-Qaeda network. But my only concern is what the other Muslim countries' reaction would be - it may have a bad effect around the Islamic world and I am also afraid a wave of hatred may follow - that is the concern I have.

King Abdullah:
Absolutely. There are a lot of sensitivities and you have got to understand that the frustration in the Arab and Islamic world is simply because they have felt from their point of view that there has been double standards in dealing with a lot of issues in our part of the world. So there are core issues in the Middle East that have created sensitivities - have created tremendous frustration and this is just another extent of that.

Out of adversity comes tremendous hope of the world coming together once and for all - I hope for the better

But again, I think that those involved in the coalition had been debating this question because they understand the sensitivities. I think the 11 September is a new day for the world - out of adversity comes tremendous hope of the world coming together once and for all - I hope for the better and there is a chance of doing that.

So the understanding between the East and the West, between Muslims and Christians and Jews is, I think, the essence of what it is that we are trying to embark on - breaking down those barriers. The quicker we move, the quicker we will be able to resolve the frustrations and the sensitivities of people in our part of the world. But definitely leading into Ramadan there is going to be a lot of reservations if the campaign is going to continue.

Jonathan Terra, Prague, Czech Republic:
Thank you. Your Majesty, you just spoke of evil, so I think it is appropriate to quote Edmund Burke who once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

There is an impression in the West that good Muslims are doing nothing to stem the tide of radical Islam. So my question is first: Why aren't you and other prominent Arab leaders in countries such as Egypt, Syria and perhaps even Saudi Arabia, organizing or at least encouraging a collective action campaign in which moderate Muslims who make up the majority would be able to denounce effectively radical Islamism - this would include respected clerics who might participate?

Second, why don't you and other influential Arabs go straight to the mosques, straight to Al-Jazeera - which has been taken over as a de facto global ministry of propaganda by al-Qaeda and send a message of moderation to help discredit and stigmatise Osama bin Laden?

King Abdullah:
To answer that question, we are. If I may just take a side-step for a moment - there is no such thing as moderate Islam and extremist Islam - there is Islam and there is the extremists and I think that has to be understood.

There is no such thing as moderate Islam and extremist Islam. There is Islam and there are extremists.

I think that the 11 September is not only a wake-up call for the world but in particular for Muslim communities throughout the world.

There is a distinct problem - I think it took everybody by surprise. The Osama bin Ladens of this world are certainly fundamentalist extremists in our religion that have definitely distorted Islam and then hijacked Islam for their own very destructive ends and as a bi-product of maybe the Cold War are still, in many parts of the world, coming out of that.

The 11 September probably took a lot of people by surprise - there's a lot of things that were not considered politically correct. It may not have been politically correct inside of Islam to say that there is an ideological confrontation, where the majority of Muslims believe in one thing and [this] has been distorted by people like Osama bin Laden.

I think there will be a lot of soul-searching inside of Islam in the coming years and this is not something that is going to be dealt with in months, but it will take years, if not decades of what we truly believe in because people like Osama bin Laden have taken the words of the Koran and of the Prophet and turned them upside down.

This has been particularly damaging in areas where Islam is prominent in non-Arabic speaking countries - in Africa and in Asia where Arabic is not the first language of those individuals. So these extremists have been able through their network to be able to get into the mosques and through the communities to say this is what Islam stands for and it is completely against what we stand for.

What we are doing now in the Arab world is coming together - the core of Islamic society to say that we have to stand up and we have to educate and as a result you see clerics coming not only to educate and warn the Islamic communities in the Middle East and the Islamic world what these people are about, but also coming to European countries and to western countries - in England in particular as an example or anywhere else in Europe - to say that we understand the problem inside your Muslim communities.

A lot of them have been misguided because of these individuals and we would like to be able to come in and voice our opinion to the average Muslim in these European countries to say this is what we stand for. Unfortunately they have been duped by the Osama bin Ladens of this world and it is a great problem that we are addressing now.

If you are looking for a reaction, well Jordan has reacted - I can speak on behalf of my country - but I think it took everybody else by surprise. And it is the realisation that we have this struggle and coming out into the open to be able to challenge. So its something we have to look inside of ourselves.

Kolathodi Mohamed, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:
The Americans consider Osama to be the prime suspect in the New York and Washington attacks. Then they declared war on Afghanistan, in a matter of weeks, apparently without looking much into the possibilities of illegal extradition which can take years.

My question is will the present US action in Afghanistan set a bad precedent - that if you are powerful enough you can attack weaker countries and get a suspect out by force. If your answer is "yes" then why do you support the United States? If you say "no", will it not set a bad precedent, and what is your justification?

King Abdullah:
Again, I think we have to remember what happened on 11 September - I think the most dramatic, catastrophic terrorist incident that has happened in the world - and unfortunately whether you like it or not, Osama bin Laden is responsible for what was perpetrated in the United States.

I do believe that from the outset there was an opportunity given to the Afghan Government and to the Taleban in particular to look at it from legal means. But I think we all understood that the reaction was very negative from the Taleban so the only alternative was to go after the man who perpetrated a tremendous amount of violence on innocent people.

Again it wasn't just Americans that lost their lives but many people from the international community, and so it's not fair to assume that Osama bin Laden is innocent. He is guilty and he has created a tremendous destruction and continues to call for the death of Christians and Jews.

And if you understand where Osama bin Laden is coming [from] - if you don't believe in his brand of Islam, we as Muslims are also the next target. So I think we have got to stay focused on what Osama bin Laden represents and how much of a problem he is - not just for the United States but for the rest of us.

Kenny, Washington DC:
Do you support the statement made by President Bush that you're either with us or against us?

King Abdullah:
Again I think you have to clarify what the President is stating. What the President is stating is that the world has dramatically changed since the 11 September - it is not the world that we knew.

It's up to countries that have been questionable in their methods of supporting terrorism or doing things illegal, wrong or evil - to have the chance to decide where they want to stand.

Different alliances are being formed. The map of the world is not going to look the same. Countries that used to be antagonistic towards each other are coming closer and closer together. There was a rumour that Russia might become part of Nato or Nato might change its designation.

I think it is a clear indication that the world is definitely changing. So as a result, I think that you will see things moving for the better. What the President says - if I can translate in my own words - is that what's happened before 11 September is the past, we are now embarking upon a new world and a new world order - one which I hope will be good. As I said, out of adversity, comes hope.

So it's up to countries that have been questionable in their methods of supporting terrorism or doing things illegal, wrong or evil - to have the chance to decide where they want to stand. Do they want to stand as part of the new international community or do they want to be on the periphery?

I think that's the President's message and the message has been through dialogue to a lot of countries that have those question marks on them - look these are the problems that we have with you - we would like through dialogue and through diplomacy to be able to sort those problems out.

But be under no misconception that if you don't, we're going to come back and revisit that particular equation because we do have a problem with you. And as a result a lot of countries around the world that do have difficulties with the international community are looking into themselves now and deciding which way they are going to stand.

So I think when he says - with us or against us, I think we are looking at a much bigger concept of that. We are looking at a new world order that is going to be safe and secure and stable.

The other part of that is I believe that the West and the countries that have the financial capability have understood how imperative it is to solve not only the conflicts of peoples around the world but also the deprivation that is in a lot of societies.

If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you're always going to have a problem. It is in my vested interest for you to be healthy, for you to have an economy, for your people to be employed if I am going to be safe. So I think that's the type of new world that we are talking about.

Ben Davis, Croydon, UK:
By supporting the American campaign are you not risking a coup or popular uprising against you?

King Abdullah:
No and I think you have to understand again the message that Jordan had from the outset that obviously we stand tremendously against what Osama bin Laden did in America because he has been doing it to us - he is an enemy of Jordan.

We need to address some of the issues that we have in the Middle East. One of those issues is the Palestinian-Israeli [conflict]

But at the same, our message when we went to the United States was very clear, that if you want to solve the root cause of the problem so you don't have another 11th September we need to address some of the issues that we have in the Middle East. One of those issues is the Palestinian-Israel [conflict]. If you don't address that and if we don't see movement on the Palestinian and Israeli track then you are going to fall into the problem that you have just mentioned.

Shai Aharony, London:
Your father, the late King Hussein, managed to win the hearts and minds of millions of Israelis when he took the extremely brave move to personally express his condolences to the parents of young schoolchildren, who were gunned down by an extremist.

What do you think can now be done to regain and rebuild the trough between the Palestinians and Israelis?

King Abdullah:
We have to get the violence removed from both sides and get them back around the peace table and I think that we have as an international community to come out as Prime Minister Blair so well put it yesterday and identify where we are going.

To this day, as an Arab, I don't know whether or not there'll be a Palestinian state.

To this day, as an Arab, I don't know whether or not there'll be a Palestinian state. As an Israeli you probably don't know whether or not there'll be a Palestinian state. As an Israeli, you probably don't know whether or not there will be an integration of Israel into the Middle East.

So as the Prime Minister put it yesterday, I think we have to identify that there will be a future Palestinian state. There will be the integration and security of Israel into the region and if we have those two as givens, as the Prime Minister said, then you can work back because then you reassure the Palestinians and the Arab community in general and the Israelis that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and unfortunately that has not been stipulated enough.

So really none of us know where we are heading and so the international community, I believe will come together, I hope, sooner rather than later to identify as the Prime Minister said, those two [objectives] and allow us some benchmarks to work from.

Azmi Tayeh, Sacramento, California:
My question is: It looks like it is only a matter of time before a Palestinian state is declared. What do you envisage to be the relationship between Palestine and Jordan?

King Abdullah:
Well I think the sky's the limit. We have been, I think in the past couple years of talking about the confederation between Jordan and a future Palestine before there is a Palestinian state because we don't want people to get in the middle and use that as a vehicle of confusion. So we said that there is no such thing in our dictionary as a confederation between Jordan and a future Palestinian state until there is a Palestinian state. What we needed to do is achieve a Palestinian state and then I believe that the sky is the limit of what Jordanians and Palestinians can do to sit together.

Azmi Tayeh:
Will refugees living in Jordan return home?

King Abdullah:
Again, you have to understand the way that his late Majesty looked at Jordanian society and the way that we look at it. Everybody in our society is a Jordanian citizen whether you come from Palestinian origin or from the Caucasus or anywhere else in the Middle East - you are a Jordanian first. But for the Jordanians of Palestinian origin, it is their right to have at least the principle right of return to a state and it is right that, at least in principle the Palestinian people should have all over the world and this is a right that we in Jordan would defend and support.

Having said that, I personally would be surprised because all Jordanians and all those of Palestinian origin have become such a part of our society - I would be surprised if it [were but] a small portion that would want to go back. Again, I think I have to maybe clarify that because I am about to turn 40 and 70% of the country is younger than me. So you have a generation of young people of Palestinian origin that don't really have any links - they weren't born in the West Bank etc. So to the younger generation of Jordanians, I believe the importance is to move on with their lives - they want to have prosperity, they want to have jobs. So that question is going to become less and less relevant as time goes on.

Bruce McCoy, San Francisco, USA:
Do you believe the peace process between Israel and Palestine is possible with Sharon and Arafat in leadership roles?

King Abdullah:
There no alternative for the future stability of the Middle East without having peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and as a bi-product of that an independent viable Palestinian state. Whether people like or not, sooner or later there will have to be that otherwise 11 September will come back and haunt us and we'll have many more problems like that in the future. So I think what we are having to say is Israelis and Palestinians you will have to sort your differences so that we can move on. People will have to understand sooner or later there will have to be a Palestinian state. There will have to be peace between the Israelis and the Arabs because we have to move on with our lives and the quicker people can realise that the better.

As for the leadership - it is very easy for people to say is that leader the right leader of that particular country or that particular party. Arafat is the symbol of the Palestinian people - Sharon is the prime minister, duly elected by his people of the state of Israel. So that is up to the Palestinians and Israelis to decide whether their leaders are effective or not effective and not for us.

Bruce McCoy:
But there are a lot of Israelis - at least one hears it quite a lot - who say Arafat is not the right man for peace and conversely on the other side there are quite a lot who say as long as Mr Sharon is there leading Israel what hope is there for any sort of breakthrough.

King Abdullah:
I think both sides realise that they have to move forward and that the international community will continue to demand more of them - whether they like it or not - peace between them will have to happen. Because we have a much bigger problem on our hands which is the problems of international terrorism, the problems of 11 September and unless you solve the Israeli/Palestinian problem, 11 September will happen again.

David Busk, Nagasaki, Japan:
Does Your Majesty consider that the idea of Jerusalem as either an international city or a joint Palestinian-Israeli capital has any merit?

King Abdullah:
Again you have to understand there was a lot of ground broken between the Israelis and Palestinians over the last year - from Camp David leading to Taba where the delineation of the old city was spoken in somewhat dramatic detail. There was one or two major issues that still needed to be tackled. If were at Camp David when Jerusalem was brought up as a subject - none of us thought that it was a subject that could have been discussed. If you saw what happened in two or three months, a lot of ground was covered. As the Israelis and Palestinians, I hope, move back to negotiations [I hope] that we don't start from scratch but we start from pretty much from where Taba left off.

Wouldn't it be wonderful in this century as we start a new millennium that Jerusalem - the holy part of Jerusalem - is a symbol of Muslims, Christians and Jews coming together and we have to look a the bigger picture. We have issues in the world and as we form this new world society, I hope for the better, what a wonderful symbol it would be that Jerusalem would be a part of that.

Dr. Abdul Rahman Azizi, Amman, Jordan
Good evening your Majesty. I am just wondering, your Majesty if you are aware of the temporary congregation law which is really considered non-constitutional and curbs basic freedoms. The explanations given by the government minister are not really convincing. For example, the Information Minister on the 4th September said that the laws are not sacred text. But surely, your Majesty, citizens' rights are sacred. It is not constitutional because it has not gone through the constitutional legal channels. This is in accordance with Article 94 of the Jordanian constitution. This law gives the prime minister the authority over the law where in normal circumstances laws should be above all.

King Abdullah:
Being as learned as you are, you probably know better and I know where you are coming from on that particular question. Let's use the start of the intifada as a benchmark for talking about public rallies. Over 600 public rallies, forums, discussions, whatever you want to call them, have been allowed by the government and are continuing to be allowed by the government. But there has to be a specific way of approaching how those are done. So there has not been a clamp down by the government to say that no rallies or demonstrations are allowed. But we have to, as in any other country, modern and democratic, you have to go through the legal notification to be able to do that. Since those rules have come out, rallies and meeting have continued to be allowed in Jordan and you know that and we will continue to allow them.

But where the problem is, is that when we know that in a certain rally that there's going to be an element - and we have seen this in Jordan in the past year and you are very aware of what I am talking about - when there are certain elements are going to leave the rallies so that they can overturn cars and break windows. Now when the authorities have a feeling that this is going to happen - we have talked to those that are organising the rally to say look don't do it this time. But all those people who have been banned from one certain rally probably came back the next week to have another one. So there is a dialogue that goes between both sides. So I think it is kind of unfair to paint a picture that is a one-sided thing.

If we could talk about press freedoms, I am very surprised that you say that because in my letter to the government last week, I specifically asked for the Ministry of Information to be disbanded. We have been the first people in the Middle East, because I believe that we need to have civil liberties and freedoms in our society and a good way of doing that is eradicating the Ministry of Information - creating a model where reasonable and responsible people from the media will create a higher committee to examine the ethics and the moral codes of the media in particular. Also I want to reassure you that that committee is not going to be run by government ministers - I want it from the media itself.

So I am saying the sky is the limit in freedoms but also there has to be some sort of responsibility and people have to meet us half way. So I am looking to an increased movement on press freedoms and also on the rule of law. Yes, we want to have a very free and open society but also there are particular elements out there that want to use those opportunities to create havoc in the streets - no country in the world is going to allow that. So let's be very clear, rallies, demonstrations are allowed in Jordan but you have to go through the appropriate channels and you in particular probably know what that method is and we will continue to allow that to happen.

Dr. Taoufik Nouri, Switzerland:
Why don't you make a regime like here in Britain or Belgium, where the king or queen has no executive role?

King Abdullah:
I presume as the world changes isn't that the way that monarchies will head? I think if we are looking at a modern liberal society, the way it is going is we are strengthening institutions. This is the problem that we have in maybe our part of the world - that institutions have not been the central core of moving countries forward. Our job, by improving the economy, improving social welfare, the way the government does business - strengthening institutions eventually that is going to be the end game.

King Abdullah:
I think that monarchies have to adapt to the new century and there is no way that we are going to survive as a nation if we are to stand in place. The world will demand countries - whether they are considered democracies, republics or monarchies - to move in a certain direction and we are all going to have to move with the times - definitely.