AMBASSADOR GNEHM DISCUSSES U.S.-GOJ ISSUES WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004894

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI JO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR GNEHM DISCUSSES U.S.-GOJ ISSUES WITH
NEW SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

REF: A. AMMAN4408 B. AMMAN 4533 C. AMMAN 4577 D.
AMMAN 4246 E. AMMAN 4764

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5(b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Ambassador Gnehm visited newly elected Speaker of the
Parliament, Saad Hayel Srour, and discussed issues related to
the new Parliament including the ongoing debate on temporary
laws, Iraq, and the peace process and U.S.-Jordanian
relations.END SUMMARY.

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INITIAL PRAISE FOR MPs
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2. (C) On Saturday, August 2, Ambassador Gnehm and PolOff
paid a courtesy call on the newly elected Speaker of the
Parliament, Saad Hayel Srour. After an initial exchange of
pleasantries, the Ambassador asked Srour about his views on
the new Parliament. Srour confided that although the start
of the special session had not been easy, things were going
well and he was happy with the overall level of cooperation
from members. He explained that only 20 percent of the new
members were from the old parliament and this created
continuity problems but praised new members for their high
levels of education.

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DEBATE AND PASSAGE OF TEMPORARY LAWS
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3. (C) The Ambassador stressed his strong support for the
bold steps taken by the GOJ regarding economic reform and
hoped there would be speedy movement in the Parliament to
ratify temporary laws related to the economy. Srour said he
expected things to go the "right way", and highlighted that
there is agreement in principle by many MPs to ratify most of
the temporary laws. Some 35 temporary laws, he added, have
been sent to committees for discussion. Although optimistic,
he does expect some proposed amendments.

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VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
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4. (C) Srour advised that the Parliament will meet after
August 6 to debate the new reshuffled government (refs b and
c) and expected the deliberations to take 4-5 days. He
viewed this development as a positive step and one which will
allow MPs to express to the GOJ their views on the new
government.

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ISLAMIST MPs
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5. (C) The Ambassador expressed interest in reaching out to
all factions in the Parliament, particularly the Islamists.
He emphasized the need to explain to them about the Embassy's
programs and how they benefit Jordan. Srour encouraged the
Ambassador to reach out to the Islamists. He described them
as "difficult" people, while also characterizing some of them
as politically well educated. Of the 17 Islamic Action Front
(IAF) MPs, he classified 2-3 as particularly difficult and
the rest as moderates. He said some are willing to talk and
are not hard to deal with, and promised to encourage them to
talk with Embassy officials.

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JORDAN'S TWO HEADED SERPENT: OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND IRAQ
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6. (C) On Iraq, the Ambassador told Srour that although
things have moved slowly, progress is being made though not
reported by the press. He said that most of our difficulties
have been in an area north and west of Baghdad. The
situation in the Shi'a south and in the north is much better.
The challenge now for the U.S. is to find credible Sunni
contacts. He stressed the U.S. wants the Governing Council
to make the tough decisions. Srour hoped to see continued
progress and linked reconstruction in Iraq to an improvement
in Jordan's economy. He believes that Jordan's unskilled and
unemployed workers, which he estimated at between 60-70,000,
would benefit if economic opportunities opened up in Iraq.


7. (C) On the peace process, the Ambassador stated how
U.S.-Jordanian cooperation positively influenced the
direction of policy on this issue. He also focused on the
close relationship between President Bush and the King.
President Bush, the Ambassador added, is committed to an
independent Palestinian state and had pressed PM Sharon on
settlements and the security fence. The Palestinians, the
Ambassador concluded, must keep the peace and fight violence.
Srour emphasized how the Palestinian issue had a direct
impact on Jordan's economy. If people don't believe or trust
that there will be progress, he explained, they hold back on
spending. If they see hope, they spend their money and
strengthen the economy. He felt that both PM Abu Mazen and
the Palestinian Authority, as well as PM Sharon, could do
more to explain the delicate issues and highlight progress to
give people hope.

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U.S. - Jordanian relations
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8. (C) The Ambassador again reiterated U.S. government
support for the King's economic program and highlighted the
U.S. aid provided to Jordan this year. Although the level of
aid would not remain at the same level next year, Ambassador
Gnehm explained, the U.S. would continue to support the
King's economic programs so that Jordan's poor could benefit
from economic progress.


9. (C) Srour expressed concern that American policy is not
clear to many parliamentarians. He felt that their
understanding is often based on what they read in the local
media, thus their impressions are formed by what the media
interprets as U.S. policy. He felt more could be done to
improve this situation and encouraged the Ambassador to
connect future visiting CODELS with MPs to establish a
communication "bridge" between U.S. and Jordanian lawmakers.
This would further help parliamentarians understand economic
laws and how they relate to global issues.
GNEHM