US embassy cable - 04AMMAN469

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, IZ, SA, SY, JO 
SUBJECT: KING COVERS SYRIA, BORDER ISSUES, SECURITY 
TRAINING FOR IRAQIS WITH SEN. BILL NELSON 
 
Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b) (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (S)  King Abdullah told visiting Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) 
January 11 that increasingly sophisticated weapons continue 
to be smuggled across the Syrian border.  He expressed 
concern over the security of his border with Saudi Arabia as 
well as Saudi stability, hoping that Saudi internal efforts 
against extremists were not too little, too late.  The King 
expressed firm support for continued training of Iraqi 
military and police personnel in Jordan.  Sen. Nelson visited 
the Iraqi training site.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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SYRIA A "PUZZLE" 
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2.  (S)  Sen. Bill Nelson briefed King Abdullah January 11 on 
his January 10 meeting in Damascus with Syrian President 
Bashar al-Asad, noting that Bashar had not in his 
conversation ruled out the possibility of discussions with 
Israel.  The King responded that Bashar had recently told the 
British the same thing, and that "his heart is in the right 
place."  However, the King continued, increasingly 
sophisticated weapons continue to be smuggled from Syria into 
Jordan, and Jordanian forces are "catching Syrians (doing the 
smuggling) for the first time."  The King said he believes 
Bashar is in control in Damascus, but many of the people 
around him "profit from the status quo."  They try to "keep 
him occupied with Israel so he (Bashar) won't think out of 
the box." 
 
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"TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE" IN SAUDI ARABIA? 
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3.  (S)  After expressing appreciation for U.S. border 
control assistance to Jordan, the King mentioned his concerns 
about Jordan's border with Saudi Arabia.  Sen. Nelson asked 
whether the Saudis are addressing their internal problems 
with extremists.  The King responded that they are trying, 
but he was not sure they know how much they need to do: 
based on an assessment by the Jordanian security services, 
the Saudi security apparatus needs to be "rebuilt from the 
ground up."  He hoped Saudi internal efforts to control 
extremism are not "too little, too late."  "We cannot afford 
to lose Saudi Arabia, so we must all work together to help 
them."  The King noted that, in their meeting January 10, 
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah had told him that Saudi Arabia 
would put down its internal unrest in 2004.  While CP 
Abdullah was relaxed about the situation, the King commented, 
the members of the younger generation were "tense."  The King 
worried about spillover into Jordan from Saudi Arabia if the 
internal situation got out of control. 
 
4.  (C)  CP Abdullah had also argued to the King that now is 
the time to press for forward movement on the Middle East 
peace process.  The King said that Foreign Minister Marwan 
Muasher was working with his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts 
on language for a forward leaning statement that could be 
issued at the Arab Summit meeting this spring. 
 
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IRAQI MILITARY, POLICE TRAINING A PRIORITY 
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5.  (C)  The King noted that Jordan is committed to helping 
restore stability in Iraq, and said he was following closely 
Jordanian training of New Iraqi Army personnel.  In the 
training, Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish soldiers are being mixed 
to create an Iraqi military esprit de corps.  He also noted 
that Jordan is taking good care of the Iraqi military 
trainees, saying "we give them four times the rations of a 
Jordanian soldier." 
 
6.  (SBU)  Following the meeting with the King, Sen. Nelson 
visited the Jordan International Police Training Center 
southeast of Amman.  Jordanian Public Security Director 
(national police chief) Gen. Tahseen Shurdom, Training 
Director Steve Bennett, and camp commander (Jordanian police) 
Col. Hassan al-Nsour briefed Sen. Nelson on the program and 
conducted a tour of the facility which is quickly rising out 
of the desert.  Sen. Nelson observed the first group of Iraqi 
police recruits being trained in marksmanship, car search and 
driving techniques, and defensive and arrest tactics, as well 
as the in-processing of the second group of 500 recruits, 
which had arrived that day. 
 
7.  (U)  Sen. Nelson has cleared this message. 
 
8.  (U)  CPA Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
GNEHM