US embassy cable - 03AMMAN7970

UNCLAS AMMAN 007970 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MAP 
SUBJECT: COUNTRY TEAM ASSESSMENT FOR JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES 
(JAF) REQUEST FOR A SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING 
SYSTEM 
 
 
 1 ON 2 APRIL 2003 THE JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES (JAF) SUBMITTED 
A LETTER OF REQUEST (LOR) FOR A LETTER OF OFFER AND 
ACCEPTANCE (LOA) FOR A SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING 
SYSTEM WITH THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATIONS: 
      A. FREQUENCY RANGE OF 3600-4200 MHZ AND 1400-1700 MHZ 
      B. LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS 
      C. SATELLITE TRACKING CONTROLLER 
      D. VOICE CHANNELS NOT LESS THAN 16, DATA CHANNELS NOT 
LESS THAN 8 
      E. POWER REQUIREMENTS 110-240V AC 45-60HZ 
      F. MUST MEET INMARSAT STANDARDS OF B,M, MINI M AND 
THURAYA 
 
2. THE EMBASSY COUNTRY TEAM RECOMMENDS THAT THE U.S. 
GOVERNMENT APPROVES RELEASE OF THE SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 
MONITORING SYSTEM TO THE GOJ FOR PROCUREMENT THROUGH THE 
FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM. 
 
3. THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN 
THE CONTINUED PEACE OF THE REGION AND MERITS FURTHER U.S. 
ASSISTANCE. THE SYSTEMS IN QUESTION WILL ENABLE JORDAN TO 
DEFEND ITS BORDERS BETTER, TO DETER POTENTIAL TERRORISTS, AND 
TO PREVENT TERRORIST ACTIVITY WITHIN JORDAN'S BORDERS BY 
INTERCEPTING SIGNALS. SUCH A TOOL WOULD PREVENT BOTH SMALL 
AND LARGE-SCALE TERRORIST ACTIVITY BY TAKING AWAY THE 
TERRORIST'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH SATELLITE PHONES, A 
TECHNOLOGY USED BY KNOWN TERRORIST GROUPS. 
 
4. JORDAN IS A KEY PLAYER IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR AND AS 
SUCH JORDAN IS ALREADY SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE 2 OF EACH VERSION 
2 AN/PRD MOBILE RADAR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS FROM ANOTHER 
GOVERNMENT AGENCY. THE RELEASE OF THE SATELLITE COMMUNICATION 
S MONITORING SYSTEM WILL IMPROVE JORDAN'S ABILITY TO COMBAT 
AND DETER TERRORISM. THE MORE CAPABLE JORDAN IS IN PROTECTING 
AND SECURING ITS BORDERS, THE MORE EFFECTIVE JORDAN'S EFFORTS 
WILL BE IN DETERRING AGGRESSION AND IN ENHANCING THE 
STABILITY OF OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION. 
 
5. THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT CONFIRMED TO THE EMBASSY COUNTRY 
TEAM ITS INTENT TO PROVIDE THESE ITEMS WITH THE SAME DEGREE 
OF SECURITY AS THE U.S. WOULD PROVIDE. IN THE PAST JORDAN HAS 
BEEN A TRUSTWORTHY CUSTODIAN OF SIMILAR SENSITIVE UNITED 
STATES GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY AND THE COUNTRY TEAM STRONGLY 
BELIEVES THAT THIS WILL CONTINUE. 
 
6. WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE REACTION FROM 
ANY REGIONAL STATE, INCLUDING ISRAEL OR SAUDI ARABIA, IN 
RESPONSE TO JORDAN'S ACQUISITION OF THE SATELLITE 
COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING SYSTEM. THE REGIONAL COUNTRIES 
SHARE A MUTUAL INTEREST IN SEEING THAT JORDAN'S MILITARY 
MAINTAINS OR INCREASES ITS DEFENSIVE CAPABILITIES. 
 
7. THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE THE 
FORCE STRUCTURE OF THE JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES. 
 
8. THE SYSTEMS WOULD BE FUNDED BY FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING 
(FMF) AND WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE JORDANIAN ECONOMY. 
 
9. IF JORDAN IS ALLOWED TO PROCURE THE SYSTEM, TRAINING ON 
THE SYSTEM WILL BE REQUIRED. THERE WOULD BE NO ADVERSE 
REACTION TO UNITED STATES PERSONNEL CONDUCTING THE TRAINING 
IN JORDAN. 
 
10. WE ARE UNAWARE OF ANY ALLEGATIONS OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF 
HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES THAT WOULD 
PROHIBIT RELEASE OF THESE ITEMS. 
 
11. POC FOR THIS ACTION IS MAJ W. MARK HUNTHROP, USA, AT 
011-962-6-592-0101, EXT 2545 OR WHUNTHROP@SAN.OSD.MIL. 
HALE