US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3352

UNCLAS AMMAN 003352 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, JO 
SUBJECT: GOJ BACKTRACKING ON BOMB PLOT REINFORCES PUBLIC 
SKEPTICISM 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 3288 
     B. FBIS GMP20040430000022 
 
1.  (U)  The April 29 Zarqawi audiotape acknowledging 
sponsorship of the recent bomb plot in Amman but denying a 
chemical agent was involved got wide publicity in Jordan.  It 
prompted the GOJ to walk back from previous claims that the 
bombers aimed to kill 80,000 Jordanians with chemical bombs 
(refs).  GOJ spokesperson Asma Khader challenged Zarqawi's 
denial of a chemical bomb on Jordan TV April 30: "As for 
denying that chemical substances would have been used, this 
does not conform with the seizure of these huge quantities of 
chemicals and materials and does not conform with the 
confessions made by al-Jayyusi and other group members."  In 
the next breath, however: "On the other hand, no Jordanian 
official has said that the chemical materials are a chemical 
bomb (sic).  They are chemical materials that suspect 
al-Jayyusi admitted he bought on the Jordanian market." 
 
2.  (U)  Khader's comments contradict (state-run) JTV's 
narration during the special program airing the plotters' 
confessions on April 26.  In that program, "technical 
experts" claimed that one conventional and one "chemical" 
bomb had been planned, with casualty estimates of "around 
80,000 people dead and around 160,000 wounded." 
 
3.  (U)  Comment:  While Zarqawi's acknowledgment of the plot 
to target GID supports the GOJ story that something horrible 
was afoot in Jordan, the public flip-flop on the chemical 
bomb angle will reinforce the widely-held view that the GOJ 
exaggerated the group's intentions and capabilities.  Nor 
will it bolster the GOJ's credibility in the eyes of a 
conspiracy-minded public. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site 
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE