JORDAN RECALLS AMBASSADOR FROM QATAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007624

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2016
TAGS: PREL UN AL QA JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN RECALLS AMBASSADOR FROM QATAR

REF: A. AMMAN 7592

B. AMMAN 6932


1. (U) SUMMARY: Jordan escalated its row with Qatar by
recalling its Ambassador from Doha. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The dispute between Jordan and Qatar escalated October
3 when Jordan recalled its Ambassador for "consultations."
The GOJ's official spokesman explained that Jordan took this
step in protest over Qatar's failure to abide by an Arab
League endorsement of Jordan's candidate for UN Secretary
General (ref B.) An unidentified Jordanian official,
referring to recent consultations on Lebanon and the peace
process between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, told the press that
"Qatar had adopted a negative attitude towards Jordan because
of Jordan's close relationship to Saudi Arabia." (Qatar's
foreign minister himself asserted in an Al-Jazeera interview
that one unnamed country sought to disrupt Jordan-Qatar
relations, a sure reference to Saudi Arabia.) The unnamed
Jordanian official added that "Jordanian expatriates in Qatar
have been facing bureaucratic nuisances when renewing their
residency permits." Approximately 15,000 Jordanians live and
work in Qatar according to press reports.


3. (C) Other Jordanian grievances with the Qataris include:

--recurring frustration with al-Jazeera broadcasts (see para
4). Jordanian officials regularly complain that al-Jazeera
treats moderate Arab governments more sensationally that
al-Arabiya does, and gives prominent billing to the opinions
of irresponsible oppositionists.

--a certain rivalry over Middle East peace process
initiatives -- the recent media reports of Qatari contacts
with Abu Mazen and Hamas probably rankled.

--the GOQ's alleged closeness to Iran

--HBJ's coup in securing Israeli permission to fly to Beirut
in his own plane during the Lebanon conflict, while other
Arab FMs traveled in two groups aboard Egyptian and Jordanian
military aircraft.

LA TIMES STORY RUNS ON AL-JAZEERA
--------------


4. (C) The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was
likely Al-Jazeera's handling of an October 1 Los Angeles
Times column speculating that the situation in Jordan was
similar to that in late-1970s Iran. The satellite network
featured the item for an entire day October 3, on its
below-screen crawler, and covered it in its hourly newscasts
with side-by-side photos of King Abdullah and the late Shah.



5. (C) Comment: The Jordanian government's anger at the GOQ
is real. But the GOJ also may be encouraging an open season
on Qatar with a view toward generating some patriotic
indignation at home to counter the sour mood that has
developed over this summer's violence in Lebanon and the
Palestinian areas. If this was the GOJ's goal, it has
succeeded; even opposition Islamist politicians (ref A) have
joined in the Qatar-bashing.

Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/

Hale