IRAQ PRISON ABUSE CHARGES SHAKE JORDANIAN VIEW OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003406

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2014
TAGS: PHUM PREL ASEC PTER KISL IZ JO
SUBJECT: IRAQ PRISON ABUSE CHARGES SHAKE JORDANIAN VIEW OF
U.S. SOCIETY, VALUES

REF: A. AMMAN 3388

B. AMMAN 3380

C. AMMAN 3329

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b)(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Shocked and consumed by heavy media coverage of the
Iraqi prison abuse scandal, Jordanians tell us that the
resulting damage to America's image in the region may be
"irreversible." The bombardment of images of naked Iraqi men
forced into humiliating sexual positions, as American
personnel gloated, appears to be erasing for many Jordanians
their only remaining justification for the war: the toppling
of a dictatorship that ruled by fear and torture. The
photographs have touched deeply a raw nerve in this
conservative, religious society, and reinforce stereotypes of
American immorality. Contacts worry that the scandal will
have far reaching negative consequences for U.S. reform and
human rights programs, and adversely affect security of
Americans in Jordan. End Summary.

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STRONG GOJ CONDEMNATION
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2. (C) Media coverage of the Abu Ghureib prison abuse story
is intense and continuous (ref a). A front-page story for
four days running, with repeated displays of the distressing
photos in paper and on satellite TV, the Islamist press in
particular has had a field day. Editorialists across the
political spectrum have written that the images unmask the
true nature of U.S. intentions and of average Americans.
Official GOJ reaction has been limited, and many of our GOJ
contacts have avoided discussing the topic with us.
(Comment: We suspect that embarrassment at the subject
matter and general Jordanian politeness in personal
relationships has restrained many from expressing their
feelings to us directly. End Comment.) Asked about the
abuse allegations during a weekly press conference, GOJ
spokesperson Asma Khader termed the pictures "shocking and
revolting," adding that Jordan condemns and denounces these
measures which violate human rights and international law.

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POPULAR REVULSION
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3. (C) Former royal court adviser and political analyst
Adnan Abu Odeh told Poloff the abuse revelation is the most
damaging hit to U.S. credibility since the Iraq war started.
Reflecting earlier comments from security officials (ref b),
he worried that it will do "irreversible damage" to important
and badly-needed U.S. programs in the region, especially the
Greater Middle East initiative. He said that U.S. officials
must now conduct an open and wide-ranging investigation, but
given the poor U.S. image in the region, people will
naturally question the outcome. He said the humiliating
images of naked and helpless Iraqi men -- who pride
themselves on their toughness and manliness -- being sexually
abused is the ultimate shame in Arab culture. He lamented
the fact that senior U.S. officials had partially justified
the war using human rights abuses at Abu Ghureib under
Saddam's regime, abuses that the U.S. was now responsible for.


4. (C) One Western-oriented contact commented to EconOff
that the appearance of female soldiers in the photos was
particularly offensive. Contacts (without backgrounds in
security) have expressed concern that these images have
heightened the risks to average Americans in the region,
including women. Piquing Jordanian concerns for Jordanian
prisoners in Iraq, al-Jazira on May 3 aired allegations from
a Jordanian student that he had been (less harshly) abused by
U.S. soldiers while in custody in Iraq.


5. (C) As the lone dissenting voice we have heard, Jordan
Chamber of Commerce official Yanal Bustami tried to give the
U.S. military the benefit of the doubt, telling PolOff that
while the situation is regrettable, he hopes that the
perpetrators are indeed a few bad apples and not
representative of the U.S. military as a whole.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) The fact that abuses occur in Middle Eastern prisons
should come as no surprise to Jordanians; graphic
confirmation that U.S. personnel engaged in abuse of such a
degrading nature comes as a shock. While we imagine it will
take time for Jordanians to absorb this story and come to
conclusions, one early emerging theme is that the U.S. proved
to be no better than the Saddam regime -- thereby stripping
the one generally accepted justification for the war among
Jordanians, the removal of a brutal dictatorship that
tortured its people. A second emerging theme is to begin to
question the sincerity of our regional reform agenda, or
capacity to credibly promote it -- questioning we hear from
reform-oriented contacts. Third, the security of Americans
in Jordan is affected negatively, and already high
anti-American sentiment further inflamed. Unsubstantiated
allegations that "thousands" of Jordanians remain in U.S.
detention in Iraq -- and in the view of many Jordanians could
be suffering ill treatment -- may further fuel anger in
Jordan. A prompt, credible, independent investigation may be
the only way to reverse the damage.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page.
HALE