Three civil wars loom, says Jordan's king

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Middle East is on the verge of three civil wars -- in Iraq, Palestinian territories and Lebanon -- unless strong action is taken urgently by the international community, Jordan's King Abdullah warned on Sunday.

With President Bush heading to Amman this week to talk with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Abdullah said "something dramatic" must come from that meeting to stop violence spinning out of control in Iraq.

"I don't think we're in a position where we can come back and revisit the problem in early 2007," he said on ABC's "This Week."

But the United States must also look at the "big picture" and seek comprehensive Middle Eastern solutions involving all regional players, he said -- indicating this should include Syria and Iran.

"We're juggling with the strong potential of three civil wars in the region, whether it's the Palestinians, that of Lebanon or of Iraq," the Jordanian king said.

"We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands. And therefore, it is time that we really take a strong step forward as part of the international community and make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous crisis that I fear, and I see could possibly happen in 2007," Abdullah said.

Read the rest at the Washington Post