KING EMPHASIZES POLITICAL REFORM WITH CODEL DREIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002592

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV OREP IZ IS SY JO
SUBJECT: KING EMPHASIZES POLITICAL REFORM WITH CODEL DREIER

REF: AMMAN 2378

Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) In a March 27 meeting with Codel Dreier, King Abdullah
described the importance of comprehensive social, economic
and political reform in Jordan. The King reiterated his
support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a partner
for peace. The King stated that he did not believe Syria
would pull out of Lebanon completely and he confirmed that
Jordan backs all efforts to restore Iraq's stability. Prince
Faisal explained that the recent FMF supplemental request
will boost border security. End Summary.

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Comprehensive Reform
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2. (C) In a March 27 meeting with Codel Dreier, King Abdullah
described his recent visit to the United States as
"excellent." The King stated that he had returned to Jordan
aware that the government was in danger of complacency on
reform, particularly on democratization. He said that the GOJ
had received a wake-up call to move forward with
comprehensive reform that focused on political as well as
social and economic modernization. DPM Marwan Muasher and
Prince Faisal echoed this line in earlier meetings with Codel
Dreier. Muasher and Faisal both said Jordan had excelled in
economic reforms, but needed to re-focus on political
development in advance of 2007 parliamentary elections.
Congressman David Dreier remarked that while the United
States tends to think it has the monopoly on democracy, it
continues to learn how best to implement democratic
principles. Muasher joined the King in the meeting with Codel
Dreier as did Royal Court Minister Samir Rifai.


3. (C) Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart thanked the King for
Jordan's steadfast support and complemented him on his reform
efforts. Diaz-Balart emphasized that the United States firmly
believed that strong political parties and an empowered
parliament were key to democratization and stability. He
hoped the King's reform program would focus on these two
issues. The King responded that Jordan needs to maintain its
momentum on reform and explained how the National Agenda
Committee (reftel) grew from the G-8 conference at Sea
Island. Muasher said the committee would publish its 10-year
reform plan in September 2005. He claimed it would differ
from previous plans because it will contain performance
standards, performance indicators, and a specific timeline.
Muasher said the Prime Ministry would monitor the
implementation of the reform agenda and publish its findings
on a regular basis. Future governments would "be bound" by
the agenda.

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Abbas: Partner for Peace
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4. (C) Congressman Doc Hastings expressed his gratitude for
the King's leadership in the region and asked for his views
on the Middle East Peace Process. The King reiterated his
support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and called
Abbas a partner for peace. The King said that Abbas had the
will for peace, but was in need of international support to
help him win the Arab street. He explained that through
economic assistance Abbas could show tangible results of the
peace process to the Palestinian people. The King spoke of
how Abbas had broken with former Palestinian President Yasir
Arafat early regarding the intifada and that Abbas knew that
violence would lead nowhere. The King said he felt cautiously
optimistic about the peace process and described the roadmap
as the only means to achieve a just and comprehensive
resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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King Concerned Syria Will Remain in Lebanon
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5. (C) Congressman Ander Crenshaw conveyed his appreciation
to the King for the role Jordan has played in the peace
process and in the Global War on Terror. He asked the King
how he perceived Syria's recent moves in Lebanon. The King
cited three reasons for his concern that Syria might not
completely pull out of Lebanon. First, he pointed to Syria's
desire to maintain radar sites on the heights of Lebanon for
early detection of potential Israeli air strikes. Secondly,
he estimated that Syria's presence in Lebanon allowed Syria
to siphon off between one and three billion USD worth of
economic benefits. Thirdly, he believed the
Syria-Iran-Hizballah axis would be severely weakened if Syria
lost its military and intelligence presence in Lebanon; the
Syrian government "would not let this happen." Even if Syria
withdrew all of its troops, it could exert significant
control through Syrian and Lebanese intelligence agencies.
That said, the King counseled against a U.S. or Israeli
military option.

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Support for Iraq
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6. (C) The King reconfirmed Jordan's support for restoring
Iraqi stability and commented on Jordan's efforts to attain
that goal. He highlighted Jordan's role in providing
counter-insurgency training to the Iraqi military. He noted
that Iraqi units that received this training performed well
last year in Falluja. The King said he thought the Iraqi
police training in Jordan was good, but could be improved. He
understood the quantity versus quality balance that needed to
be taken into consideration, but felt that the current
six-week course was too short.

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FMF Supplemental
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7. (C) Dreier asked Prince Faisal to explain the reasons
behind the request for an FMF supplemental. Faisal
highlighted two incidents that demonstrated the terrorist
threat in Jordan; the disrupted April 2004 chemical bomb
threat and the car bomb attempt at the Iraqi border crossing
in December 2004. According to Faisal, investigations into
the April bomb threat revealed most of the equipment and
supplies had arrived in Jordan through normal border control
points. This countered their previous belief that such
material usually crossed the border in areas controlled by
the military. Based on this information Faisal said that the
GOJ began to look at the border in a more comprehensive
manner in order to better integrate the military, border
police, and civil response forces. He explained that the
request for a supplemental was intended to provide better
communications and information technology systems to make
coordination more seamless. The goal of this integration is
to prevent infiltration. Faisal mentioned the border with
Saudi Arabia as a new concern for infiltration that they must
now cover. In the past they focused primarily on the borders
with Israel, Syria and Iraq. Faisal reiterated that these
funds were intended for border security and counterterrorism;
not for large weapon system procurements.


7. (U) Codel Dreier did not have the opportunity to clear on
this message.


8. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

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