KING COVERS SYRIA, BORDER ISSUES, SECURITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000469

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2014
TAGS: PREL PTER IZ SA SY JO
SUBJECT: KING COVERS SYRIA, BORDER ISSUES, SECURITY
TRAINING FOR IRAQIS WITH SEN. BILL NELSON

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (S) King Abdullah told visiting Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
January 11 that increasingly sophisticated weapons continue
to be smuggled across the Syrian border. He expressed
concern over the security of his border with Saudi Arabia as
well as Saudi stability, hoping that Saudi internal efforts
against extremists were not too little, too late. The King
expressed firm support for continued training of Iraqi
military and police personnel in Jordan. Sen. Nelson visited
the Iraqi training site. END SUMMARY.

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SYRIA A "PUZZLE"
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2. (S) Sen. Bill Nelson briefed King Abdullah January 11 on
his January 10 meeting in Damascus with Syrian President
Bashar al-Asad, noting that Bashar had not in his
conversation ruled out the possibility of discussions with
Israel. The King responded that Bashar had recently told the
British the same thing, and that "his heart is in the right
place." However, the King continued, increasingly
sophisticated weapons continue to be smuggled from Syria into
Jordan, and Jordanian forces are "catching Syrians (doing the
smuggling) for the first time." The King said he believes
Bashar is in control in Damascus, but many of the people
around him "profit from the status quo." They try to "keep
him occupied with Israel so he (Bashar) won't think out of
the box."

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"TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE" IN SAUDI ARABIA?
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3. (S) After expressing appreciation for U.S. border
control assistance to Jordan, the King mentioned his concerns
about Jordan's border with Saudi Arabia. Sen. Nelson asked
whether the Saudis are addressing their internal problems
with extremists. The King responded that they are trying,
but he was not sure they know how much they need to do:
based on an assessment by the Jordanian security services,
the Saudi security apparatus needs to be "rebuilt from the
ground up." He hoped Saudi internal efforts to control
extremism are not "too little, too late." "We cannot afford
to lose Saudi Arabia, so we must all work together to help
them." The King noted that, in their meeting January 10,
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah had told him that Saudi Arabia
would put down its internal unrest in 2004. While CP
Abdullah was relaxed about the situation, the King commented,
the members of the younger generation were "tense." The King
worried about spillover into Jordan from Saudi Arabia if the
internal situation got out of control.


4. (C) CP Abdullah had also argued to the King that now is
the time to press for forward movement on the Middle East
peace process. The King said that Foreign Minister Marwan
Muasher was working with his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts
on language for a forward leaning statement that could be
issued at the Arab Summit meeting this spring.

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IRAQI MILITARY, POLICE TRAINING A PRIORITY
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5. (C) The King noted that Jordan is committed to helping
restore stability in Iraq, and said he was following closely
Jordanian training of New Iraqi Army personnel. In the
training, Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish soldiers are being mixed
to create an Iraqi military esprit de corps. He also noted
that Jordan is taking good care of the Iraqi military
trainees, saying "we give them four times the rations of a
Jordanian soldier."


6. (SBU) Following the meeting with the King, Sen. Nelson
visited the Jordan International Police Training Center
southeast of Amman. Jordanian Public Security Director
(national police chief) Gen. Tahseen Shurdom, Training
Director Steve Bennett, and camp commander (Jordanian police)
Col. Hassan al-Nsour briefed Sen. Nelson on the program and
conducted a tour of the facility which is quickly rising out
of the desert. Sen. Nelson observed the first group of Iraqi
police recruits being trained in marksmanship, car search and
driving techniques, and defensive and arrest tactics, as well
as the in-processing of the second group of 500 recruits,
which had arrived that day.


7. (U) Sen. Nelson has cleared this message.


8. (U) CPA Baghdad minimize considered.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/

or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET
home page.
GNEHM