US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3406

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003406 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, ASEC, PTER, KISL, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQ PRISON ABUSE CHARGES SHAKE JORDANIAN VIEW OF 
U.S. SOCIETY, VALUES 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 3388 
     B. AMMAN 3380 
     C. AMMAN 3329 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b)(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Shocked and consumed by heavy media coverage of the 
Iraqi prison abuse scandal, Jordanians tell us that the 
resulting damage to America's image in the region may be 
"irreversible."  The bombardment of images of naked Iraqi men 
forced into humiliating sexual positions, as American 
personnel gloated, appears to be erasing for many Jordanians 
their only remaining justification for the war: the toppling 
of a dictatorship that ruled by fear and torture.  The 
photographs have touched deeply a raw nerve in this 
conservative, religious society, and reinforce stereotypes of 
American immorality.  Contacts worry that the scandal will 
have far reaching negative consequences for U.S. reform and 
human rights programs, and adversely affect security of 
Americans in Jordan.  End Summary. 
 
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STRONG GOJ CONDEMNATION 
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2.  (C)  Media coverage of the Abu Ghureib prison abuse story 
is intense and continuous (ref a).  A front-page story for 
four days running, with repeated displays of the distressing 
photos in paper and on satellite TV, the Islamist press in 
particular has had a field day.  Editorialists across the 
political spectrum have written that the images unmask the 
true nature of U.S. intentions and of average Americans. 
Official GOJ reaction has been limited, and many of our GOJ 
contacts have avoided discussing the topic with us. 
(Comment:  We suspect that embarrassment at the subject 
matter and general Jordanian politeness in personal 
relationships has restrained many from expressing their 
feelings to us directly.  End Comment.)  Asked about the 
abuse allegations during a weekly press conference, GOJ 
spokesperson Asma Khader termed the pictures "shocking and 
revolting," adding that Jordan condemns and denounces these 
measures which violate human rights and international law. 
 
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POPULAR REVULSION 
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3.  (C)  Former royal court adviser and political analyst 
Adnan Abu Odeh told Poloff the abuse revelation is the most 
damaging hit to U.S. credibility since the Iraq war started. 
Reflecting earlier comments from security officials (ref b), 
he worried that it will do "irreversible damage" to important 
and badly-needed U.S. programs in the region, especially the 
Greater Middle East initiative.  He said that U.S. officials 
must now conduct an open and wide-ranging investigation, but 
given the poor U.S. image in the region, people will 
naturally question the outcome.  He said the humiliating 
images of naked and helpless Iraqi men -- who pride 
themselves on their toughness and manliness -- being sexually 
abused is the ultimate shame in Arab culture.  He lamented 
the fact that senior U.S. officials had partially justified 
the war using human rights abuses at Abu Ghureib under 
Saddam's regime, abuses that the U.S. was now responsible for. 
 
4.  (C)  One Western-oriented contact commented to EconOff 
that the appearance of female soldiers in the photos was 
particularly offensive.  Contacts (without backgrounds in 
security) have expressed concern that these images have 
heightened the risks to average Americans in the region, 
including women.  Piquing Jordanian concerns for Jordanian 
prisoners in Iraq, al-Jazira on May 3 aired allegations from 
a Jordanian student that he had been (less harshly) abused by 
U.S. soldiers while in custody in Iraq. 
 
5.  (C)  As the lone dissenting voice we have heard, Jordan 
Chamber of Commerce official Yanal Bustami tried to give the 
U.S. military the benefit of the doubt, telling PolOff that 
while the situation is regrettable, he hopes that the 
perpetrators are indeed a few bad apples and not 
representative of the U.S. military as a whole. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (C)  The fact that abuses occur in Middle Eastern prisons 
should come as no surprise to Jordanians; graphic 
confirmation that U.S. personnel engaged in abuse of such a 
degrading nature comes as a shock.  While we imagine it will 
take time for Jordanians to absorb this story and come to 
conclusions, one early emerging theme is that the U.S. proved 
to be no better than the Saddam regime -- thereby stripping 
the one generally accepted justification for the war among 
Jordanians, the removal of a brutal dictatorship that 
tortured its people.  A second emerging theme is to begin to 
question the sincerity of our regional reform agenda, or 
capacity to credibly promote it -- questioning we hear from 
reform-oriented contacts.  Third, the security of Americans 
in Jordan is affected negatively, and already high 
anti-American sentiment further inflamed.  Unsubstantiated 
allegations that "thousands" of Jordanians remain in U.S. 
detention in Iraq -- and in the view of many Jordanians could 
be suffering ill treatment -- may further fuel anger in 
Jordan.  A prompt, credible, independent investigation may be 
the only way to reverse the damage. 
 
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