King Abdullah II: "This is truly a global fight against terror"
America's key Arab ally in this fight is Jordan and we spoke to Jordan's King Abdullah II in New York before the U.N. General Assembly meeting. The king sees the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). as part of a larger crisis.
KING ABDULLAH II: As we deal with Syria and Iraq, let's not forget Libya, let's not forget Yemen, let's not forget the Horn of Africa, Nigeria. This is truly a global fight against against terror.
Jordan has long been surrounded by wars, Syria to the north and Iraq to the east. Refugees have poured across King Abdullah's borders and as the crisis grows, so does the risk for the region.
SCOTT PELLEY: What are the risks of ISIS if it carries on the way it has?
KING ABDULLAH II: The reaction to ISIS has got to be quick. And we have not been quick. I'm very, very pleased that President Obama has been thinking this through, I think in a very sensible manner.
SCOTT PELLEY: But in your estimation just in the nick of time?
KING ABDULLAH II: In the nick of time.You know, the the problem is with ISIS is they're cross-bordered. It's in Syria and Iraq. So it's been a bit difficult, I think, for Western countries. And how do you deal with solving the Iraq part of the puzzle, but then going into eastern Syria, which has some legal ramifications? And I think that's taking a bit of time.
SCOTT PELLEY: In an interview just last year, you said there shouldn't be foreign military intervention in Syria. Have you changed your mind now?
KING ABDULLAH II: I don't think anybody's talking about, expecting, foreign boots on the ground. So in Iraq, it's the Iraqis that could do it with assistance from a coalition. And then Syria is the Syrian opposition doing it, moderate opposition, pushing back against extremism.
The leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, called on the world's 1.6 billion Muslims to bow to him, but King Abdullah dismissed him as a "heretic."
KING ABDULLAH II: I think to use the word Islam and him in the same sentence is not acceptable. That he even speaks in the name of Islam is so horrendous and so shocking.