Criticised Arnie fixes date with Jordan's king

Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a hastily-arranged visit to King Abdullah of Jordan today following criticism that the California governor’s Middle East trip excluded a meeting with Arabs.

The actor turned Republican politician flew in from Jerusalem, where he paid tribute to the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust and helped dedicate a planned museum of tolerance during a whirlwind visit to Israel.

In Jordan, Schwarzenegger met Abdullah at Beit al-Barakeh, or House of Blessing – the king’s private residence in Amman.

Political discussions during a royal banquet were expected to focus on Middle East peacemaking and Iraq, government officials said.

Abdullah is a friend of Schwarzenegger and has visited the governor at his home in Los Angeles.

The stop in Jordan was arranged after Arab-Americans in Southern California criticised the governor’s trip because it did not include a meeting with Arabs.

“As you know, you always will find criticism no matter what you do,” Schwarzenegger said of the complaints.

Sabiha Kahn, a spokeswoman for the California branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called the Jordan visit “a good step in the right direction”, but said he should visit the West Bank and Gaza Strip.