1. (C) The proposed new U.S. draft UN Security Council
Resolution on Iraq contains several elements that will please
the Jordanians. First, it asks that Iraqis come up with a
timetable for transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. Senior
Jordanian officials have repeatedly encouraged the coalition
to go public with a reasonable -- and achievable -- timetable
for formation of an elected Iraqi government and full
transfer of authority. Second, the UNSCR draft mandates a UN
force and asks other nations to contribute. This could
provide Jordan the international cover it needs to support a
stabilization force in Iraq more actively and directly.



2. (S) We believe that a new resolution as outlined in ref
would go a long way toward addressing Jordan's domestic
political complexities should it commit police or military
forces for Iraq. The resolution would give a multinational
force "international legitimacy" in the eyes of most
Jordanians, and there would likely be less strident domestic
objection to a Jordanian contribution.



3. (S) COMMENT: There is still considerable latent
resentment in Jordan over the presence of foreign "occupiers"
in Iraq, and many Jordanians -- including Islamist members of
Parliament -- could accuse the GOJ of supporting "occupation"
by contributing troops to a UN force. Given these and
broader Arab reservations, we believe that it will be
difficult for the King to participate overtly in a UN force
without other Arab participation. That said, we note that
the deployment of a Jordanian Armed Forces field hospital in
Falluja has drawn little domestic criticism.



4. (U) CPA Baghdad minimize considered.
GNEHM