JORDAN EVACUATES ITS EMBASSY FROM BAGHDAD,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002297 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER IZ JO SUBJECT: JORDAN EVACUATES ITS EMBASSY FROM BAGHDAD, DOWNPLAYS RECALL OF IRAQI AMBASSADOR REF: A. BAGHDAD 1199 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1197 ¶C. AMMAN 2218 ¶D. AMMAN 2131 Classified By: CDA Christopher Henzel for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The staff of the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad evacuated to Fallujah on March 20. In Algiers, FM Mulki publicly denied that the Jordanian Charge had been "summoned" to Amman, but rather repatriated for security reasons. Iraqi diplomats in Amman confirmed their Ambassador will go back to Baghdad for "consultations." The Iraqi embassy in Amman, however, will remain. With King Abdullah and other key decision-makers out of the country, the GOJ response to recent events continues to be disjointed. End Summary. -------------- JORDANIAN EMBASSY STAFF EVACUATED TO FALLUJAH -------------- ¶2. (C) Contacts at the Jordanian Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) confirmed March 20 that all personnel evacuated from the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad had arrived safely at the Jordanian field hospital in Fallujah before nightfall that same day. According to the Chairman of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF),the Jordanian Defense Attach Office will continue to operate from the Fallujah hospital, while civilian diplomats and administrative staff will return to Amman. The Chairman also stated that the JAF had deployed additional security forces along the Jordanian-Iraqi border and had increased the alert level of selected JAF units to prevent possible attacks within Jordan in retribution for the suicide bombing in Hillah allegedly perpetrated by a Jordanian (ref C). ¶3. (C) Jordanian FM Hani al-Mulki, currently in Algiers in the run-up to the upcoming Arab League summit, told reporters March 20 that the Jordanian Charge in Baghdad had not been summoned back to Amman, but had left the embassy -- which he described as "practically under siege" -- due to the "grave" security situation. "We are hoping that the Iraqi police will devise a plan to protect the embassy. Meanwhile, we have asked Charge d'Affaires Dimai Haddad to come back because he was living at the embassy," Mulki was quoted in local media. Contradicting the JAF's account of the evacuation, Mulki added that the embassy had not halted operations and that Jordanian diplomats not living in the embassy compound would remain in Baghdad. (NOTE: An MFA contact told POLOFF March 21 that FM Mulki had not been "fully informed" when he spoke to reporters in Algiers and that the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad was indeed completely closed. END NOTE.) Separately, GOJ minister spokesperson Asma Khader stated the Jordanian charge had arrived in Amman late on March 20 and would brief PM al-Fayez on the situation in Iraq. She stressed that the ambassador's return did not mean that Jordan was "pulling him out of Baghdad," and said that the GOJ was "very keen on sustaining close brotherly ties with Iraq." -------------- IRAQ RECALLS ENVOY TO AMMAN -------------- ¶4. (C) Following the evacuation of the Jordanian embassy, Iraqi FM Zebari told the Associated Press on March 20 that the Iraqi government had recalled its ambassador from Amman. As reported ref A, the announcement apparently caught Iraqi diplomats in Jordan by surprise. The Iraqi DCM told POLOFF late on March 20 that despite the departure of the ambassador to Baghdad for "consultations," the embassy would continue normal operations. Phone calls on March 21 confirmed that the Iraqi Embassy in Amman remains open for business. -------------- GOJ RESPONSE -------------- ¶5. (C) After a series of relatively weak public statements regarding the alleged Jordanian suicide bomber in Hillah (ref D),government spokesperson Khader has taken a clearer stand in the last several days against violence in Iraq while also trying to quell claims that Jordan is anti-Shia. During a March 19 press conference, Khader stated that Jordan's ties with Iraq were "never based on a certain group or race" and stressed that the GOJ had "no negative position or stand against the Shiites. We have always respected the will of the Iraqi people in choosing their own leadership and future and will continue to do so." Khader added that Iraq's stability was in Jordan's interest and that the GOJ had been very clear in condemning all acts of violence in Iraq. "Jordan strongly condemns any attack against the Iraqi people, in particular the hideous crime of Hillah which killed scores of innocent people." At the same time, however, Khader sounded a defensive note, saying there was no proof that the Hillah bombing was carried out by a Jordanian and denouncing the burning of Jordanian flags by Iraqi demonstrators as "an affront" to the Jordanian people. In a separate public statement on March 20, a Foreign Ministry spokesman affirmed that "Jordan strongly condemns all forms of terror acts that target Iraq's security and stability." The Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Abdul Hadi Majali, similarly reiterated Jordan's condemnation of all forms of terrorist attacks and killings in Iraq. ¶6. (C) Khader's response to the recall of the Iraqi envoy was more faltering. While she called for calm during comments to the press on March 20, she denied (rather disingenuously) that there was any escalation of tensions between the two countries. She emphasized that Jordan had been the target of terrorists before recent events in Iraq and specifically referred to the bombing of the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad in August 2003 (which the GOJ has pinned on the networks of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). "Statements by the prime minister, Cabinet officials as well as the Parliament clearly reflects Jordan's position against terrorist attacks," Khader added. As an example of Jordan's commitment to fight terrorism, she highlighted the latest State Security Court decision announced March 20 that once again convicted Zarqawi in absentia for plotting terrorist attacks against Jordanian targets in Iraq (septel). -------------- IN PRIVATE, CONSPIRACY THEORIES -------------- ¶7. (C) Acting FM Saleh Bashir told CDA late March 20, without explaining the basis for his assertion, that the anti-Jordan demonstrations in Iraq were "financed by Ahmad Chalabi" and Iran. Charge stressed the need for Jordan to put out a conciliatory line with senior public statements, given the long-term importance of Jordan's relations with the incoming government in Iraq. Public speculation about hidden forces at work would exacerbate the situation. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) With both the King and Foreign Minister out of the country, and those left behind well out of the loop, the GOJ's initial response to events has been disjointed. Post will press available GOJ interlocutors to engage with the Iraqis and to maintain a conciliatory public position. ¶9. (U) Minimize considered. HENZEL