Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05AMMAN7777
2005-09-29 15:23:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT AMBASSADOR JEFFREY AND

Tags:  PREL PGOV JO IZ 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

291523Z Sep 05
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007777 

SIPDIS

NOFORN

FOR NEA IRAQ DESK OFFICER MAGGIE HABIB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV JO IZ
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT AMBASSADOR JEFFREY AND
INTERAGENCY DELEGATION

REF: A. AMMAN 5803


B. AMMAN 7273

C. STATE 170754

D. AMMAN 7601

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

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007777

SIPDIS

NOFORN

FOR NEA IRAQ DESK OFFICER MAGGIE HABIB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV JO IZ
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT AMBASSADOR JEFFREY AND
INTERAGENCY DELEGATION

REF: A. AMMAN 5803


B. AMMAN 7273

C. STATE 170754

D. AMMAN 7601

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


1. (S) King Abdullah views the success of the Coalition
effort in Iraq as essential to Jordanian national security
interests. The GOJ provides important political and
logistical support for U.S. activities in Jordan that
contribute to the Iraq effort, most notably training for
police, for military officers and specialists, and for Iraqi
government regulators. Despite solid GOJ support for U.S.
efforts in Iraq, our policies there are highly unpopular with
the Jordanian public as they are in much of the Arab and
broader Islamic world. The Jordanian Government pays an
internal political price for its alignment with us on Iraq.

============================
PM BADRAN,S VISIT TO BAGHDAD
============================


2. (C) You will be meeting with the GOJ leadership shortly
after its significant political opening to the ITG as
demonstrated by the visit of Prime Minister Adnan Badran on
September 10 to Baghdad, the first visit of a senior Arab
state official to Iraq since the fall of Saddam. Badran, who
was accompanied by four other cabinet members during his
visit that included meetings with Vice President Adel Abdul
Mehdi and PM Ibrahim Jaafari, told the latter that he
expected to see further ministerial-level meetings soon
within the framework of the Jordan-Iraq Joint Higher
Committee.


3. (C) In addition to serving as a secure platform for the
USG for Iraq-related efforts, Jordan is also important to the
private sector,s role in Iraq reconstruction and shipping;
Iraq-related economic activity has contributed to much of
Jordan,s 7 percent GDP growth over the past year. Border
security is an important GOJ concern, and considerable USG
assistance is directed at helping the GOJ improve control
over its frontiers.


4. (S/NF) In our country team,s assessment, the Jordanian
security services are doing their best to intercept young
men, whether Jordanian or foreign, of military age headed to

Iraq.


5. (U) Background on other topics that may come up during
your conversations with the GOJ follows:

============================
JORDANIAN AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ
============================


6. (C) In July, Jordan named retired General Ahmad Salameh
al-Lozi as Ambassador to Iraq, a welcome step we had long
sought, though he has not yet presented his credentials or
moved to Baghdad. The GOJ is seeking more secure
arrangements in Baghdad for their Embassy and its staff
before al-Lozi takes up his duties there.

====
DEBT
====


7. (C) The GOJ argues that the $1.3 billion Iraq owes under
the old Iraq-Jordan Trade Protocol is not sovereign debt; the
USG rejects this position (ref C) and we have urged Jordan to
grant Iraq terms at least as generous as those granted by the
Paris Club. The GOJ is unlikely to agree, simply because it
is already under considerable fiscal stress due in part to
the ballooning cost of its fuel subsidy program. With the
revival of the Jordan-Iraq Joint Higher Committee following
the Badran visit, we expect the two sides will resume
discussion of a solution bilaterally, which had been reached
under the Allawi interim government.

=======================================
MILITARY TRAINING FOR IRAQIS IN JORDAN
=======================================


8. (S) On September 25, Chairman of the Jordanian Armed
Forces, General Sarairah, laid out for Ambassador Khalilzad
additional opportunities for Iraqi military training in
Jordan, stressing that training here not only affords Iraqi
forces the opportunity to improve weapons and tactical
skills, but carries the potential to improve understanding of
democratic values and the appropriate role of the military
within a democratic society. Specifically, Sarairah offered
continued use of the existing New Iraqi Army training camp in
Jordan, intelligence training, additional training for units
of Iraqi border security and customs agents, and the option
to embed an Iraqi unit in a similar parent organization of
the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF). Sarairah also offered
additional equipment transfers from Jordan to Iraq, available
within the JAF as a result of the recently completed JAF
Strategic Defense Review. Ambassador Khalilzad thanked
Sarairah for his offer, and promised to pass it to the Iraqi
government.

==================
Saddam,s Daughters
==================


9. (S/NF) There are periodically media and other reports that
Saddam,s two daughters living in Jordan, as well as alleged
former regime officials in exile here, are actively aiding
insurgent forces in Iraq through financial contributions
and/or operational planning. However, the Jordanian General
Intelligence Directorate (GID) keeps Saddam,s relatives here
under close watch, and shares details on this coverage
through intel channels. The GOJ remains ready to expel or
consider other requests for action against Iraqis accused of
wrongdoing here.
HALE