Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09AMMAN69
2009-01-08 11:58:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

JORDANIAN CONTACT EXPOUNDS ON REASONS BEHIND GID

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR JO 
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VZCZCXYZ0020
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #0069/01 0081158
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 081158Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4126
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 6139
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3869
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 2069
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1475
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5294
S E C R E T AMMAN 000069 

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA AND INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2029
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN CONTACT EXPOUNDS ON REASONS BEHIND GID
DIRECTOR'S DISMISSAL

REF: A. 08 AMMAN 3405

B. TD-314/093523-08

C. TD-314/093816-08

D. 08 AMMAN 2673

E. 08 AMMAN 2671

F. 08 AMMAN 1455

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).

S E C R E T AMMAN 000069

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA AND INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2029
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN CONTACT EXPOUNDS ON REASONS BEHIND GID
DIRECTOR'S DISMISSAL

REF: A. 08 AMMAN 3405

B. TD-314/093523-08

C. TD-314/093816-08

D. 08 AMMAN 2673

E. 08 AMMAN 2671

F. 08 AMMAN 1455

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).


1. (S/NF) Summary: PolOff met on January 5 with Dr. Muhammad
Al-Momani (protect),host of a current affairs program on
Jordan's state-run television. Momani offered his
understanding of former General Intelligence Department
Director Muhammad Al-Dahabi's dismissal and how the decision
to fire him reflected Jordanian internal politics. He also
provided information on new Director Muhammad Rath'an
Al-Raqqad (Ref A). We cannot vouch for Momani's access to
reliable information on these subjects, but report his
comments because they largely echo details acquired through
other channels (Refs B and C). Among Momani's observations:

- Momani cited as the proximate cause for Dahabi's dismissal
the failure of GID to prevent a Jordanian MP linked to GID
from burning an Israeli flag in Parliament; but he noted that
the move was mainly a delayed reaction to the King's
displeasure with the smear campaign against his former Royal
Court Chief, Bassem Awadallah (Refs D-F).

- Dahabi had managed to delay his dismissal by playing up a
lack of alternatives within GID to his leadership; the fact
that others in his circle were also dismissed likely
reflected the King's dissatisfaction with that claim and some
of Dahabi's activities.

- Media elements who Momani said participated in the
purported campaign against Awadallah are now concerned that
they may suffer fallout from Dahabi's departure; meanwhile
there is talk of Awadallah making a comeback (in some
capacity) and his allies are pleased with the changing of the
guard at GID.

- Dahabi's replacement, who was not involved in the campaign
against Awadallah, has a strong background in
counterterrorism and may not be as supportive of continued
GID dialogue with Hamas. End Summary.


2. (C) The conversation with Momani initially focused on
Jordan's reaction to the Gaza crisis. When asked whether he

thought the dialogue, renewed last year between GID and Hamas
leaders, would continue under the new GID directorship and in
the light of events in Gaza, Momani began to hold forth on
Dahabi (Ref A).

Why Was Dahabi Dismissed ... Now?
--------------


3. (S/NF) According to Momani, the proximate - although not
the underlying - cause for Dahabi's dismissal was the
perception that he had mishandled the reaction among
Jordanians to the Gaza crisis, particularly MP Khalil
Attiyeh's burning of the Israeli flag in Parliament. Per
Momani, Attiyah had previously publicly acknowledged that he
owed his position in Parliament to the GID. Thus it would
have been reasonable to expect the GID could have kept him
under control.


4. (S/NF) Another factor that Momani said contributed to
Dahabi's dismissal was the GID's renewal of talks with Hamas
- which in Momani's view had not gained Jordan much influence
over the group. He claimed Dahabi was in close contact with
Hamas political office director Khaled Mish'al, and had hopes
of getting Mish'al and Hamas "in his pocket." (Note: Momani
said this information came from Abdullah Jazi, the First
Deputy Speaker of Parliament. He also heard the same from
the Editor-in-Chief of the independent daily Al-Ghad, who
claimed that the talking with Mish'al was a reason Dahabi was
let go. We have no reason to believe either figure would
have access to decision-makers on these issues. End Note.)

Bassem Awadallah Was the First Shoe, Was Dahabi the Second?
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Repeating speculation that we have heard elsewhere,
Momani said the underlying reason for the King's displeasure

with Dahabi was the smear campaign against Awadallah that
forced the King to dismiss his Royal Court Chief in
September. In Momani's view the King made a politically wise
decision to drop Awadallah but it was not the King's desired
outcome. Dahabi had simply created too much momentum against
Awadallah. Momani assessed that Dahabi had managed to delay
his own firing - which many had expected to quickly follow
Awadallah's departure - by playing up the fact that GID
lacked an appropriate successor. According to Momani, since
Dahabi's dismissal, people at the online Ammoun News, the
government-owned daily Al-Rai, and the nationalist Al-Arab
Al-Yawm, have grown fearful that they will suffer
consequences given their roles in fomenting a public
relations campaign against Awadallah. On the flip side, said
Momani, the "Awadallah Camp" is pleased with the Dahabi
dismissal. Awadallah had previously told friends that he
expected to be "back" in a few months in a position to work
on the King's agenda (NFI) in a more private capacity than
before. According to Momani, former PM Abd Al-Karim Kabariti
has said that people should "think of Awadallah as the King's
son, not as his security blanket."


6. (S//NF) In Momani's view, it was significant that not
only was Dahabi dismissed, but also senior GID officer Arafat
Abzakh and others who shared Dahabi's views. Per Momani,
Fawzi Ma'aytah, a senior figure in GID's Internal Section who
just dismissed, too - would call up reporters and yell at
them when they wrote anything pro-Awadallah and alternatively
thank those who wrote against him with money and cars.


7. (S) Note: Awadallah featured in a previous turnover of
GID leadership as well. Dahabi in December 2005 had replaced
his short-tenured predecessor Samih Asfourah, shortly after
the Amman hotel bombings of the previous month, but in many
ways Dahabi took up the mantle of Asfourah's predecessor,
Sa'ad Khair. Like Khair, Dahabi was an opponent of Bassem
Awadallah, a Palestinian-origin reformer who lost a
ministerial post during Khair's tenure but later returned as
the King's Chief of the Royal Court. Awadallah again lost
his job in September 2008 after months of criticism mainly
from East Banker commentators and a rumor campaign suggesting
his disloyalty. It is worth noting that several months after
Awadallah was dismissed in 2005, Khair, his chief antagonist,
was also eased out of the GID directorship. End Note.

Dahabi's Replacement, Muhammad Raqqad
--------------


8. (C) Momani said he has met Dahabi's replacement, Muhammad
Raqqad, when he (Momani) was facing an "audit" in advance of
his appointment as Assistant Dean at Yarmouk University.
(Note: Raqqad had headed GID operations in Irbid in 2004.
End Note.) According to Momani, he was "nice, polite, very
tribally oriented, and doesn't know any English." He has a
clean and transparent reputation, and is seen as a "very
simple guy." During the 15 minutes the two talked in the
university president's office, Raqqad expressed concern about
"problems in the faculty of arts," which had too many
Islamists in Raqqad's view. Momani assessed that Raqqad's
selection was a signal that the King did not like how much
time Dahabi was spending focusing externally (NFI).


9. (C) Momani cited two reasons in particular for Raqqad's
selection. The first (which he subsequently downplayed) was
the grumbling in GID that there were many directors (Note: It
was not clear whether he meant section chiefs or GID
Directors) coming from minority backgrounds, such as
Circassians. End Note.). More importantly, Raqqad had
stayed neutral on Awadallah. Momani highlighted that Ali
Burjak, who had headed up GID's Counter-terrorism Directorate
but was recently moved to a posting in Cairo, was back at GID
headquarters. He does not get along with Raqqad on a
personal level (Burjak, in Momani's account, had wrongly
tried to take credit for the takedown of the Jayousi cell of
the Al-Tawhid Brigades Organization in 2004, which was
actually done by Raqqad's team),but the two do see
eye-to-eye on the need to deal extremely firmly with
terrorism, and may reject Dahabi's flexible approach in
holding dialogue with Hamas.


10. (S/NF) Comment: While we cannot vouch for Momani's
access to reliable information on subjects relating to the
GID and to the King's thinking on such matters, it is worth
nothing that they are very similar to details acquired
through other channels. While they are also consistent with

some of the rumors mentioned in the media, they paint a more
comprehensive picture. End Comment.

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