Monday, August 6, 2012

Jordan's king: "Clock is ticking" in Syria

Hundreds of Syrian refugees every day are fleeing across the border into Jordan. That's putting pressure on Jordan, which is calling for international aid.

"CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose sat down with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman for an extended interview.

ROSE: You believe that...this is not going to be easy for Assad to go, because he is part of the Alawite minority? And that therefore there may be a plan B?

KING ABDULLAH: If I was putting myself in his shoes. Again, having seen the images of what happened to Qaddafi, I mean that must be something in the back of his mind. Where would I want to go if that was an option? If he does go, by whatever means, I don't see that the system around him is capable of changing. The clock is ticking on a political transition and if we don't find ourselves a way out by the end of the year, then you are going to see a spike in sectarian violence and I think its going to be a full-out civil war and I think calamity for years to come.

To watch the rest of the interview, tune in to "CBS This Morning", which starts at 7 a.m. on your local CBS affiliate.

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