BLUE LANTERN: DISCUSSIONS WITH EMBASSY AND

UNCLAS STATE 059042

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AMMAN FOR DEBORAH WINTERS
ECON
AMMAN FOR ALICA LEJLIC
POL-MIL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KOMC OTRA PARM PREL JO
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: DISCUSSIONS WITH EMBASSY AND
JORDANIAN OFFICIALS FEBRUARY 28

REF: 07 AMMAN 4525


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Compliance Specialist Judd Stitziel from
the Department's Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance
(PM/DTCC) met February 27-28 with country team and Jordanian
officials to discuss implementation of the Blue Lantern
end-use monitoring program and other defense trade issues in
Jordan. The visit included very productive meetings with
senior Jordanian Armed Forces officers responsible for
strategic planning and procurement and with the chairman of
the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau. PM/DTCC
has conveyed to ISN/ECC the keen interest the Jordanians
expressed in receiving US assistance in developing all
aspects of Jordan,s nascent export control laws. The visit
helped to inform and improve communication about Blue Lantern
and gray arms trafficking while solidifying host government
understanding of and support for the program. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Administered by PM/DDTC's Office of Defense Trade
Controls Compliance (PM/DTCC),Blue Lantern is a global
program designed to verify the end-use, end-users, and
disposition of commercially exported defense articles,
technology, and services. This visit to Jordan was part of
PM/DTCC's ongoing efforts to improve the effectiveness of
Blue Lantern through outreach visits with posts and host
governments.

JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES ON BOARD WITH BLUE LANTERN


3. (SBU) Stitziel and Embassy officials met with the Director
of Strategic Planning, Brigadier General Mohammad Farghal,
and the head of the Procurement Department at the Jordanian
Armed Force's General Headquarters to discuss the Blue
Lantern program on February 28. Accompanying Stitziel from
the Embassy were Economic Officer Deborah Winters,
Political-Military Officer Alica Lejlic, and Security
Assistance Officer Major Perry Orr. While BG Farghal and his
colleague were familiar with Blue Lantern and had responded
to inquiries in the past, they were unaware of the program's
global scope and were grateful for the formal briefing.
Discussion focused on how to make end-use checks as accurate,
smooth, and efficient as possible.


4. (SBU) Upon request, BG Farghal described the JAF's
procurement policies and procedures. JAF general policy is
to avoid middlemen and buy US-origin defense articles and
services directly from U.S. suppliers whenever possible.
Procurement is now either via the Foreign Military Sales
(FMS) program or direct commercial contract based on sole
source suppliers. BG Farghal's Strategic Planning office is
responsible for "big picture" planning and policy decisions,
while the JAF's Procurement Department executes the actual
purchases and is the sole entity within the JAF that issues
end-use certificates. The only other Jordanian military
entity authorized to issue end-use certificates is the
Military Office of His Majesty the King (MOHM). (COMMENT:
The conversation revealed indications of possible conflicts,
poor communication, competition, and tension between the JAF
and MOHM concerning military procurement and possibly other
areas. As established through past Blue Lantern checks, the
Director of Armory, Procurement and Special Projects at MOHM
is Major Ghazi Daghistani, who is a first cousin of the King
and appears to have authority to make significant military
procurements and to operate independently of the JAF. END
COMMENT.) BG Farghal took the opportunity to express
dissatisfaction with the amount of time required by the USG
for third-party transfer requests and the export of night
vision devices (NVDs). The very cordial meeting closed with
both sides agreeing on the value of continuing to strengthen
bilateral cooperation and communication through the Blue
Lantern program.

KING ABDULLAH II DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT BUREAU


5. (SBU) Stitziel and Embassy officials met with top
officials of the King Abdullah II Design and Development
Bureau (KADDB),a state-owned military-civilian agency within
the JAF that designs and manufactures military and commercial
equipment and provides services for the JAF as well as the
civilian and military export markets. KADDB officials
included Dr. Moayad Samman, Chairman of the Board of
Directors, and Ibrahim M. Mhailan, Contracts Advisor. USG
participants included Col. Robert Faille, Defense Attache;
Lt. Col. David Womack, MILGRP; Orr; Lejlic; and Winters.
After the Blue Lantern briefing, Dr. Samman gave an overview
of KADDB's structure, activities, procurement policies and
procedures, and future plans. Only KADDB's contracts office
is authorized to generate end-use certificates, which can be
signed only by KADDB's director. Samman emphasized that
Jordan does not permit the transshipment of defense articles
through Jordanian territory. In addition to its own R&D and
manufacturing activities, KADDB currently is invested to
various extents in 23 Jordanian companies. Finally, Samman
inquired about the possibility of Jordan and KADDB receiving
US assistance in all aspects of export controls, particularly
those related to Jordan's current efforts to draft export
control laws. Stitziel briefly described the Department's
Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance program
(EXBS) and offered to connect Samman with the appropriate
officials in the Department's Office of Export Control
Cooperation (ISN/ECC). Samman expressed gratitude and
enthusiasm about the possible assistance available through
EXBS. Upon returning to Washington, Stitziel informed the
director of ISN/ECC of the GOJ's and KADDB's interest.

BLUE LANTERN FOLLOW-UP: LE ROYAL HOTEL


6. (U) Stitziel and Winters met with Suliman Aqarbeh,
Security Director of Le Royal Hotel as follow-up to a
pre-license Blue Lantern check conducted on application
050070921 for the export of explosives detection equipment in
November 2007 (reftel). The check had verified the bona
fides of the hotel as an end-user of United States Munitions
List (USML) items and confirmed the legitimacy of the
end-use, which was to scan vehicles to be parked in the
hotel's underground garage. Stitziel briefed Aqarbeh on Blue
Lantern and asked him for feedback on his experience as the
subject of an end-use check. Most interesting were Aqarbeh's
remarks that such checks send end-users a strong message
about the quality and sensitivity of the commodities and the
seriousness with which the U.S. treats the export of such
items. Aqarbeh commented that the Blue Lantern check not
only reinforced his belief that he had made the right
decision to buy the US-origin explosive detection equipment;
together with the equipment's performance, the check had led
him to recommend the technology to colleagues at other hotels
and the Jordanian police. The meeting with Aqarbeh thus
provided additional evidence that the Blue Lantern program
helps to promote due diligence and compliance with US export
controls by industry and end-users, and can even enhance
perceptions of the quality and value of USML items.

INTERNAL BLUE LANTERN BRIEFINGS WITH EMBASSY PERSONNEL


7. (SBU) Stitziel briefed the Blue Lantern program to members
of the country team, including Fareedon Hartoqa, Commercial
Specialist, US Commercial Service; a member of the Military
Group; the Assistant Legal Attache; Natalie Brown, Economic
Counselor; Winters; and Lejlic. The Economic and
Political-Military Sections split responsibility for
coordinating Blue Lantern checks in Jordan. The number of
checks in Jordan has increased in recent years, and the
program is anticipated to continue to grow as bilateral
defense trade and the volume of direct commercial sales (DCS)
increase. Participants discussed strategies for addressing
specific past challenges of the program in Jordan, including
finding the right GOJ point-of-contact and sometimes lengthy
delays in responding to Blue Lantern requests.


8. (U) PM/DDTC would like to express its gratitude to Embassy
Amman, and especially Economic Officer Deborah Winters and
Political-Military Officer Alica Lejlic for their exemplary
work in helping to arrange and execute this visit.
RICE