KING OPTIMISTIC ON WEST BANK, "MORE NERVOUS" ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 010245

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON KPAL IZ IS JO
SUBJECT: KING OPTIMISTIC ON WEST BANK, "MORE NERVOUS" ON
IRAQ AFTER JANUARY "CROSSROADS"


Classified By: CDA DAVID HALE, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) King Abdullah told Senators Joseph Lieberman and Mark
Dayton that the Palestinians need to see quick results after
the January 9 election, and that Iraq,s political leadership
should create an Arab identity for Iraqis to overcome
religious schisms and interference by Iran. End summary.

"New Era" on West Bank Needs Housecleaning, Deliverables
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2. (C) Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator Mark Dayton met
King Abdullah in Amman on December 28 to discuss the West
Bank, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Foreign Minister Hani Al-Mulki,
Royal Court Minister Samir Al-Rifai and Media Advisor Seema
Bahous also attended the meeting. Senator Lieberman, just
off the plane from Tel Aviv, opened the meeting by saying he
sees a "new era" coming on Israeli-Palestinian relations,
that the Palestinian Authority needs to clean house and
establish security, and that Israel is prepared to be
"generous" if the situation develops well. The King noted
Palestinian Authority front-runner Abu Mazen,s long-standing
opposition to the intifada and said that Abu Mazen would work
to resolve the security situation after his election. He
said that a brigade of 1,500 of the 2,000 security officers
trained by Jordan in the 1990s could be put on the ground in
a matter of weeks to help establish security.


3. (C) Foreign Minister Al-Mulki promoted bringing forward
the London conference to a January date in order to show
international support for the Palestinians as soon as
possible. Senator Lieberman said there were a lot of hopes
and expectations about the post-January 9 period; he
appreciated that Jordan and others could play a role in
providing deliverables. The King called attention to the
need for financial support for the Palestinian Authority,
which may not be able to meet payroll after January 2005.


4. (C) The King said Abu Mazen needs to win the election and
then win "the street" by providing tangible results for
Palestinians. If the people have hope, they will stop the
bombers, the King said. Does Abu Mazen have the confidence
of the people, Senator Lieberman asked? The Jordanians
reflected some doubt on that score, and emphasized that Abu
Mazen needed to show some concrete results before his
authority would be consolidated.

Iran Seeking An Iraq "Beholden" to Tehran
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5. (C) On Iraq, the King returned to his preoccupation with
Iranian meddling. Iran, he said, wants the new Iraqi
government to be "beholden to Tehran." He had "no idea" what
2005 would bring, especially if the elections do not go well.
He called for speeding up reconstruction of the Iraqi army
and the reversing of the negative consequences of
"de-Baathification." The King said that the way to "go
after" Iran is through a stable Iraq; conversely, that the
way for Iran to "go after" the United States is through an
unstable Iraq. Mulki said that the only way to have a strong
Iraq is to have an Arabic Iraq, not an Islamic Iraq. Senator
Lieberman noted the long history of tension between Iran and
Iraq, which the King recast as "centuries" of Persian-Arab
tension, which in this situation could be a useful tool for
creating Arab solidarity in and around Iraq, and a united
front against Iranian meddling.

Syrian "Old Guard" Blocking Change
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6. (C) On Syria, the King said that Syria has made "every
conceivable mistake" since 2000. President Bush had asked
him to convey a message to Bashar al-Asad that could not be
more blunt: "get your act together or face the
consequences." (The King added that last week,s Amman
meeting with Asad was postponed until January because of the
birth of Bashar,s child.) The King was pessimistic of the
prospects for change in Damascus, as the Allawi mafia would
lose its grip on money and power, including in Lebanon, if
reforms proceeded. Foreign Minister Al-Mulki said the
Syrians believe Iraq,s instability insulated them from
pressure; when Iraq stabilized, the international community
could "talk sense" to Syria. Al-Mulki closed by saying the
United States and Jordan need to concentrate on
"disentangling" Syria and Iran from Iraq.

What Does Jordan Need? Full Stomachs
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7. (C) When asked about Jordan,s needs, the King spoke in
now-familiar terms of his strategic relationship with the
U.S. and his intention to continue to take risks in the
pursuit of our common policies in the region, in stabilizing
Iraq, assisting in the peace process, and fighting terrorism.
However, the region would be in turmoil for some time, and
he needed the political insulation that came with additional
assistance. Unpopular policies are more palatable to the
people on a "full stomach." He reviewed specifically
Jordan,s needs for enhanced border security measures, some
of which were costly.
HALE