Jordan's king calls for Middle East reforms
DEAD SEA RESORT, Jordan (CNN) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II called on fellow Arab leaders Saturday to unite against a "culture of terror and destruction" and enact sweeping changes to bring democracy to the Middle East.
"Most Arabs agree on the need for reform," he said at the opening of the World Economic Forum. "They also agree that for reform to succeed it must emerge from within our societies and not through external influence.
"Recently there's been a great deal of focus in the West on the issue of Middle East reform. But, quite simply, there is no trust in the region for a blueprint of reform that does not address people's concern as they see them -- including a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"While we do not need outside leadership on the issue of reform, we do hope for international support."
Abdullah said President Bush "assured me of his continued commitment to this goal. The failure of the international community to help make that commitment a reality will only nurture more division. Let the world's leaders demonstrate once and for all that they are serious about Palestinian freedom.
"It is also urgent for the international community to be an active partner in building a legitimate, inclusive and effective political process in Iraq," he said. "Questions about the credibility of that process will encourage extremism and obstruct the process of regional reform."
Abdullah listed several countries that have been struck by terrorism -- Saudi Arabia, Spain and Morocco -- but did not name Israel. The attacks, he said, "should unite us all against a culture of terror and destruction.
"In stark contrast, true Islam supports democratic environments that respect human life, human rights, and the rule of law. It upholds accountable, transparent governance. These are the values that make people shareholders in and protectors of society."
Abdullah said the Arab world is in a "unique position to forge a new consensus-driven vision, a vision of change, by the year 2010 ... a comprehensive approach that deals with the region's core needs: peace based on justice, progress based on reform."
"Our region is more than capable of peaceful democratic civil life," he said. "It is capable of being a worldwide model of innovation and greatness."
Powell: U.S. 'does not seek dominion'
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal in his speech to the forum.
Powell vowed that as the government responds to the abuse, "You are about to see American democracy in action."
Powell also asked world leaders not to lose sight of the "thousands of acts of kindness and courage" that U.S. soldiers have exhibited in Iraq and around the world.
"What I saw, and what you saw, shocked me as it shocked you. It shocked all Americans," he said. "We were in a state of disbelief for days as you were here. As we saw what our young men and women had done, it was so inconsistent with the values that we uphold as a military and the values we uphold as a nation.
"It shocked us because we knew how it would affect the region," and that people would look at the photos of prisoner abuse and wonder "'Is this the America that we believed in, whose value system we have looked at and admired for so many years?'
Pointing to history, including U.S activities in Europe after World War II, Powell said, "Americans are indefatigable in battle and we are compassionate in peace."
He discussed humanitarian activities in Iraq, saying that "thousands of U.S. soldiers are building schoolhouses, shaking hands with young children, refurbishing hospitals... performing thousands of acts of kindness and courage as they have around the world in so many places."
Rejecting a popular view in the Arab world, Powell said the United States "does not seek dominion."
