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When there's a status quo, usually what shakes everybody up is some sort of military confrontation, at which point we all come running and screaming to pick up the pieces.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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What keeps me up at night is poverty and unemployment.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Don't take 'no' for an answer.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Ten years ago I said, you know, my goal is to be able to get food on the table. What I'm trying to say by that is trying to create a vibrant, capable and effective middle class. The quicker and stronger that we can be able to do this, the easier it is for political reform to move forward.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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I think the success of democracy is not really police security; it's the presence of a broad middle class. The stronger the middle class of a people is, the less you have to worry about one group coming in and exploiting the democratic process for its own ends.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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If you believe that the killing of innocent people is right, then you are not part of my future.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Fifty-seven countries in the world, a third of the United Nations, do not recognize Israel. In a way, I think North Korea has better international relations than Israel.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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You're always going to have terrorism.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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There is resistance to change. There's a resistance to ideas.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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I don't think the Middle East could afford another war.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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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.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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I hope that none of the countries in the Middle East are planning anything but the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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The Arab Spring I think we will look back whether it's two years, five years, ten or fifteen. And say it's a good thing.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Nobody scares me.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Blowing up buses will not induce the Israelis to move forward, and neither will the killing of Palestinians or the demolition of their homes and their future. All this needs to stop. And we pledge that Jordan will do its utmost to help achieve it.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Over the past few years, the road to confrontation has shown its consequences: loss of innocent lives, destruction and fear. Most costly, however, was the loss of hope. The most precious gift that you can present to your peoples over the coming weeks is renewed hope born out of tangible progress on the ground.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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The incentive that you give to your youth is going to be the make-or-break future of the country.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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You're always going to have extremists in every religion.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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I've benefited from the best of both societies and both cultures, East and West.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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It is always dangerous to underestimate anybody.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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At the end of the day we want to bring stability and hope to Iraq. That's the only way to defeat terrorism.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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I like to look at the glass half full.
Abdullah II of Jordan
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Many will view the compromises that will be made during your negotiations as painful concessions. But why not view them as peace offerings, ones that will provide in return the priceless gifts of hope, security and freedom for our children and our children's?
Abdullah II of Jordan
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If everybody is happy, then something is wrong with the democratic process.
Abdullah II of Jordan
