C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000737

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2013
TAGS: PREL MARR MASS JO IZ
SUBJECT: GOJ SPOKESMAN PUBLICLY DENIES PRESS REPORTS ON
MILITARY PREPARATIONS FOR WAR WITH IRAQ

REF: FBIS GMP20030202000049

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (U) A GOJ spokesman January 30 strenuously and publicly
denied recent press reports asserting that Jordan had agreed
to allow U.S. troops to be stationed in the Kingdom and to
allow overflights of U.S. military aircraft in the event of
war with Iraq. Minister of Information and government
spokesman Mohammed Adwan told the official Petra News Agency
that such reports (alluding to but not specifying a January
30 article in the Washington Post) were "totally untrue and
baseless. Jordan's stand on this matter is firm and clear:
Jordan has repeatedly stressed it will not participate in any
war in any way, and it will not allow any party -- neither
the U.S. nor Iraq -- to use its soil and airspace." In the
same interview Adwan also rebutted a separate Al-Jazeera TV
news report that claimed that Iraq had ceased oil deliveries
to the Kingdom.


2. (U) Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb echoed Adwan's
statements a day later on January 31 when, in the local
Arabic language daily Ad-Dustour, he denied that Jordan had
agreed to provide the U.S. with any facilities to assist in a
war with Iraq. Additionally, on February 2, an unnamed
"high-level Jordanian official" described a February 1 Daily
Telegraph story asserting that British SAS and U.S. Delta
Force troops had launched a mission from Jordan as "sheer
baseless press speculation" in an interview with London's
al-Hayah (ref). Interestingly, these denials also come
amidst articles in the local press reporting the delivery of
the first six planes of a new squadron of F-16 aircraft from
the U.S. and the GOJ's request for deployment of U.S. Patriot
missile batteries to protect populated areas of the kingdom.


3. (U) The English language Jordan Times in a January 31
editorial summed up and sought to synthesize this
information: "Expectations should be realistic. Jordan can
warn -- and His Majesty King Abdullah indeed has repeatedly
warned -- against the disastrous consequences of a new
military attack . . . But Jordan cannot stop the war. The
government's duty is first and foremost toward the safety and
security of the country and its citizens. A weak Jordan
would be no good either to the Palestinians or Iraqis, or any
other Arab people . . . These are times for maturity and good
judgment, not for emotional reactions. As common wisdom
goes, Jordan must hope for the best and prepare for the
worst."

--------------
Comment
--------------


4. (C) The GOJ continues to press forward with a public
relations strategy that seeks to reconcile the perceived gap
between the Jordanian public's strong emotional opposition to
a possible war with Iraq and the GOJ's own preparations
should military action commence. Stressing the longstanding
nature of the U.S.-Jordanian relationship, and particularly
the defensive aspects of such things as deployment of
Patriots and delivery of F-16s, is the best -- and possibly
only -- way to square this circle.
GNEHM