Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05AMMAN5510
2005-07-11 12:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

DEPUTY SECRETARY'S JULY 10, 2005 MEETING WITH KING

Tags:  PGOV JO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005510 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2010
TAGS: PGOV JO
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S JULY 10, 2005 MEETING WITH KING
ABDULLAH

Classified By: Charge David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005510

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2010
TAGS: PGOV JO
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S JULY 10, 2005 MEETING WITH KING
ABDULLAH

Classified By: Charge David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D)


1. (U) Deputy Secretary's meeting with King Abdullah on July
10, 2005, 11:30 a.m., Amman, Jordan.


2. (U) Participants:

U.S.
Deputy Secretary Zoellick
Mr. Natsios, AID Administrator
Ms. O'Sullivan, NSC
Mr. Ross Wilson, D Executive Assistant
Charge (notetaker)

Jordan
King Abdullah II
Foreign Minister Qasrawi
Mr. Abdullah Woreikat, Royal Court Policy Coordination
Director
Ms. Rania Atallah, Royal Palace Communications Director


3. (C) Summary. The Deputy Secretary and the King reviewed
the outcome of the Islamic Conference recently held in Amman;
the King plans to build on that initiative with a possible
conference focused on Iraqi Sunni/Shia reconciliation, and
with outreach to western Muslim communities during his
September travels. The King reiterated his offer to train
Palestinian security forces and pledged to push parliament to
pass an anti-money laundering bill and ratify the Article 98
agreement this summer. End summary.


4. (C) The Deputy Secretary praised Jordan's success in
hosting an Islamic Conference the previous week. The King
said it was the first time representatives of all the major
sects came together to establish the parameters of the faith,
thus isolating extremist takfiri groups as apart from Islam.
He was particularly pleased that the group reiterated the
methodology of issuing fatwas, which come properly from
institutions operating with checks and balances. This step
will make clear that fatwas issued by unqualified
individuals, such as Zarqawi, are illegitimate. He hoped the
quickest impact would be seen in Iraq, where Ayatollah
SISTANI's full support for this initiative could bring
dividends in ending the violence. The King said he was
exploring ideas on next steps, possibly to include a
conference of Iraqi Sunni and Shia leaders, both secular and
religious, to denounce violence between Muslims and to build
on the fatwas issued at last week's conference. As this was
still at an embryonic stage, the King asked for
confidentiality. He thought the impact of such a conference

SIPDIS
could be immediate among the Shia, given their comparatively
strong and disciplined hierarchy. A trickier part was
identifying Sunni figures who could command authority. If

Sunni/Shia tension could be stabilized in Iraq, this same
mechanism could be used in Bahrain, Pakistan, and elsewhere.
The fact that clerics from Qum, Najaf, and Saudi Arabia
joined together in this effort made a powerful mechanism,
which could now be built on. The political leaderships in
Tehran and Riyadh may now feel a bit cornered by this
initiative. Another step ahead was to build support within
the OIC, to win endorsement at the next summit in Jeddah.


5. (C) The Deputy Secretary applauded the King's efforts.
He encouraged Jordan to work with Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi, whose "Islam Hedari" initiative had some
important parallels to the King's efforts. He also
appreciated the King's effort to use the conference results
to reinforce condemnation of the London bombings. The King
said there was strong British and American Muslim
representation at the Amman meeting, and he would work with
those communities to spread the message of the conference.
He had delayed doing so until the success of the Islamic
Conference, but his September trip to the U.S. offered
several opportunities for work within Muslim communities and
with Christian and Jewish leaders. He planned to address
Catholic University on the themes of the Islamic conference
and of interfaith coexistence. The King pointed in
particular to the conference's reiteration of the Islamic
tradition that Muslims living in non-Muslim states have a
responsibility to obey the laws of those societies so long as
Muslims there were given security and freedom of worship.


6. (C) The Deputy Secretary thanked Jordan for hosting the
July 18-19 meeting of the International Reconstruction Trust
Fund Facility for Iraq (IRRFI) and for Jordan's offer to
provide security training to Palestinian forces. The King
renewed the offer but said that Sharon's refusal to allow
even basic equipment and vehicles ) not weapons - to
Palestinian security units was problematic. When asked for
his assessment, the King said Lebanon seemed to be making
strides and Syrian officials were beginning to feel the
pressure. However, they were offering just those concessions
they judged sufficient to remove that pressure. No
determination to change policy had been made, and their
efforts to control terrorist border infiltrations remained
inadequate.

7. (C) The King thanked the Deputy Secretary for U.S.
efforts to assist Jordan, both directly and by encouraging
others to help. He noted that Bahrain's King Hamad called
him over the weekend to say he had asked the Saudis to
provide half of Bahrain's own Saudi oil assistance grant to
Jordan. In a brief discussion of Jordan's request for debt
swaps, the Deputy Secretary suggested continued discussion
was needed including in political channels. Jordan's
determination to correct its fiscal situation ) evident in
the July 8 announcement of a graduated end to oil subsidies
) would help in making the case for support. In response
to the Deputy Secretary's request, the King and Foreign
Minister pledged the government would seek passage of an
anti-money laundering bill and ratification of the Article 98
agreement during this summer's extraordinary parliamentary
session. The King also pledged continued focus on the full
range of reforms, including regionalization.


8. (U) D staff cleared this message. Department please
repeat as appropriate.
HALE