COOPERATIVE MONITORING CENTER LAUNCHED IN AMMAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007275 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/RA LAWSON, PM/RSAT, NP/RA CROUCH TEL AVIV FOR ECON GUMBINER DOE FOR NNSA/ONP SCOTT DAVIS AND SANDIA/CMC PREGENZER OSD FOR OSD/ISA/NESA SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PBTS PINR PREL PTER JO MEPN SUBJECT: COOPERATIVE MONITORING CENTER LAUNCHED IN AMMAN ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Ambassador and visiting officials from the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration and Sandia National Laboratories recently inaugurated the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) in Amman. CMC/Amman is modeled after the CMC at Sandia, which has been a leading force in promoting cooperation through technology in myriad fields, such as disarmament, non- proliferation, border security, public health, as well as environmental and resource management. The hope for CMC/Amman is for it to help regional security officials and scientific experts bridge the gap between technical and political issues. Regional activities involving Israel, however, may not be soon in the offing because of a go-slow approach favored by the CMC/Amman director in the current political climate. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Under the patronage of Jordan's science and technology czar, Prince Hassan, who was represented at the October 16 ceremony by his son, Prince Rashid, the CMC/Amman officially opened its doors for business. The Ambassador attended, as did the NEA Regional Environment Officer. Remarks, universally focusing on technology as a means to enhance regional security and prosperity, were made by Royal Scientific Society (RSS) President Saad Hijazi, U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Nonproliferation Deputy Director Scott Davis, and CMC/Sandia Director Dr. Arian Pregenzer. ¶3. (SBU) Housed on the RSS campus, the CMC/Amman will be able to draw on the technical expertise, and human and administrative resources of the RSS to further its agenda. Amman was chosen as the site for Sandia's "sister" CMC because of the excellent capacity at the RSS and for Jordan's strategic location in the region as well as its close working relationships with neighboring countries. ¶4. (SBU) CMC/Amman's mission will be to promote science and technology to resolve nonproliferation, arms control, and other security issues; develop a culture of information sharing within the Middle East through education and training; deploy monitoring technology that will allow regional countries to experiment with the technology and share experiences; and help regional security officials bridge the gap between technical and political issues. CMC/Amman can assist Jordan and its neighbors to build the necessary technical capabilities to support international treaties. ¶5. (SBU) To this end, CMC/Amman already hosted its first training workshop in July, when Sandia staff introduced 16 Jordanian military, security, and intelligence officials to the concepts of cooperative monitoring. Future workshops and regional symposia are being planned by the director of the CMC/Amman, General (Ret.) Mohammed Shiyyab. Shiyyab has been a long-time player in regional security issues and initiatives, having participated in his country's negotiations with Israel in the lead-up to their peace treaty, as well as having participated in the multilateral ACRS (Arms Control and Regional Security) process. ¶6. (SBU) While extremely enthusiastic about the project, Shiyyab has cautiously warned that, at the outset, because of domestic sensitivities, CMC/Amman should focus its scope of work on domestic or Arab-to-Arab issues that will obviate the need to involve Jordan's immediate neighbor to the west-- Israel. Shiyyab, in his opening remarks, hinted that the current political climate was not conducive to jumping in full-force on regional security cooperation. It is necessary to proceed deliberately to ensure that the CMC/Amman could claim success stories that would help establish its reputation, he recommended. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: We look favorably on the CMC/Amman as a mechanism to help promote several key elements of regional security in the Middle East. By focusing on monitoring technologies to support major arms control treaties, border management, and natural resource management, and fostering dialog and data sharing among regional partners, as well as institutional capacity building, the CMC/Amman could contribute to a more stable and prosperous Middle East. The key will be to get CMC/Amman's leadership and patrons to reach out to Israel and other neighbors to make their work significant. GNEHM