US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3677

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003677 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQ MISSION IN AMMAN ALLEGES IRAQ-JORDAN BORDER 
BRIBERY AND SALE OF FALSE IRAQI ID DOCUMENTS IN AMMAN 
 
 
Classified By: DCM David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b), (d) 
 
------- 
Summary 
-------- 
 
1. (C) The Iraq Mission in Amman alleges that Iraqi border 
police at the border between Iraq and Jordan are actively 
soliciting bribes before allowing Iraqis to pass to the 
Jordanian side.  Iraqi border police in many cases are 
letting Iraqis pass without verifying the existence or 
authenticity of travel documents.  The Iraq Mission believes 
that the majority of Iraqis entering Iraq from Jordan are 
doing so for criminal, not repatriation, purposes, and Iraqis 
are actively purchasing fraudulent identity documents in 
Jordan in order to obtain Interim Travel Documents (ITD) for 
travel to Iraq.  We report these views without assessing 
their validity.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Border Bribery and Lax Security Measures 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Ma'an Barakat, Charge at the Iraq Mission to Jordan, 
told PolOff on May 6 that many Iraqis have come to the 
Embassy complaining that they were forced by Iraqi border 
police at the Karama border to pay a bribe in order to cross 
into Jordan.  Ahmad Jirallah, Iraq Mission Consul, said that 
many Iraqis have come to the Mission to get an ITD after 
having crossed into Jordan without any travel documents or in 
possession of those of questionable authenticity. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Iraqis in Jordan Won't Return Until Security Improves 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
3. (C)  Barakat and Jirallah said that the current security 
situation is the most important issue in Iraq.  Educated 
Iraqis in Jordan will not return until they believe that 
security is better, backed by an Iraqi government and Iraqi 
security personnel.  The vast majority of Iraqis who have 
appeared at the Embassy to apply for ITDs so far are 
uneducated and unskilled.  Jirallah believes that most Iraqis 
are returning due to lack of job opportunities in Jordan and 
for the purposes of criminal activity, such as kidnapping and 
smuggling.  He revealed that a group of Iraqis kidnapped the 
eight year-old son of a former Iraq Mission telephone 
operator, Jihad Shaker, just inside the Iraq border on April 
10, and the boy is still being held captive as Shaker cannot 
pay the demanded 20,000 USD ransom. Jirallah alleged that 
this is just one example of many recent kidnapping cases, and 
he fears for his family's safety in returning to Iraq upon 
completion of his tour in Amman in three months. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
ITDs and Undocumented Iraqis in Jordan 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) To date, Jirallah has issued a total of 550 ITDs to 
Iraqis in Jordan.  He asserted that many Iraqis come to the 
Mission for ITDs without any identity documents.  Jirallah 
claimed that fraudulent Iraqi identity documents are easy to 
obtain in the downtown Amman area.  In one recent case he 
cited, a man returned to the Mission with a fraudulent Iraqi 
birth certificate one day after being told by Jirallah that 
he could not receive an ITD without proof of identity.  When 
confronted by Jirallah, the man admitted to purchasing the 
certificate in downtown Amman for 500 USD. 
 
5. (C) There is a strong perception among our contacts that 
bribery on the Iraqi side of the border and purchasing of 
fraudulent Iraqi documents is widespread.  A U.S. NCO who is 
a liaison at the Karama border crossing told PolOff that an 
Iraqi policeman was fired last Wednesday after he demanded 
and received a cellular phone as a bribe.  According to the 
NCO, Iraqi police solicitation of bribes at the border is 
very common and occurs any time Coalition forces are not 
directly observing them.  One Iraq border police unit has, 
reportedly, not been paid in two months.  This may be a 
contributing factor to the bribe demands.  Additionally, the 
NCO asserted that Jordanian border officials turn back the 
vast majority of Iraqis trying to cross into Jordan due to 
lack of or questions about travel documents. 
 
-------- 
Comment 
-------- 
 
6. (C) We have no way to verify some of the assertions coming 
from the Iraqi Mission, such as travel of Iraqis to conduct 
kidnappings.  That said, our U.S. military contacts tend to 
confirm that corruption among Iraqi border officials appears 
to be on the rise. 
 
7. (U) 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