US embassy cable - 04AMMAN4694

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 004694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2014 
TAGS: PREL, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQ CHARGE IN AMMAN URGES U.S. FOCUS ON 
RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward Gnehm for reasons 1.5(b), (d) 
 
 1. (C) SUMMARY: Iraq Charge in Amman Ma'an Barakat urged the 
U.S. to focus on the reconstruction of Iraq once the Iraq 
Interim Government (IIG) assumes sovereignty after June 30. 
He asserted that Iraqis will accept the authority of the IIG 
if it takes charge in civil and criminal matters.  He also 
said that the Iraq Mission in Amman will experience turnover 
of several personnel, including Consul Ahmad Jirallah, this 
summer.  End Summary. 
 
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U.S. MUST FOCUS ON RECONSTRUCTION; PRODUCE TANGIBLE RESULTS 
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2. (C) In a June 3 meeting with PolOff, Barakat urged 
coalition forces to scale back considerably their visible 
presence, and for the U.S. to focus on the reconstruction of 
Iraq after June 30.  He emphasized that it would be a mistake 
for coalition forces to withdraw.  However, he opined that 
Iraqis would not believe in the sovereignty of the IIG unless 
it was clear that the coalition was not running the daily 
affairs of the government and that the U.S. was focused on 
reconstruction.  A continued dominant and visible presence of 
coalition forces after June 30, Barakat said, would only 
reinforce the common belief among Iraqis that the U.S. wants 
to control Iraq's oil.  He believed that reconstruction was 
the key to convincing the Iraqi people that the U.S. is 
genuinely interested in their welfare.  Iraqis, he asserted, 
do not want to hear about the dollar amount of assistance 
they will receive, but instead want tangible results.  He 
also stressed the importance of hiring local Iraqis for 
reconstruction labor to help restore security. 
 
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IIG NEEDS TO TAKE CHARGE 
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3. (C) Barakat said that the IIG must assert its authority 
quickly to establish credibility.  The Iraqi people, he 
opined, will accept IIG control if Iraqi criminals are 
brought to trial by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).  This 
would also help to restore order on the streets.  He asserted 
that the crimes committed by Iraqis could only be solved 
through the investigations of Iraqi police.  The coalition 
forces, he believed, would not be able to help in these 
matters unless they worked directly with police.  On 
President Al Yawer, Barakat was happy with the selection as 
he believed Al Yawer understood the Iraqi mentality and would 
promote a secular, non-fundamentalist approach to governing. 
 
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PERSONNEL TURNOVER 
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4.  (C) Iraq Mission Consul Ahmad Jirallah said that he and 
three or four other personnel will return to Iraq over the 
summer as part of normal rotations.  Jirallah was not happy 
with the move (due to security fears for himself and family) 
and did not know how long he would be working at the MFA 
office in Baghdad before reassignment.  Barakat added that he 
recently spoke with FM Hoshyar Zebari about future staffing 
of the mission and that Zebari had said that the mission may 
receive a commercial attache in the next few months. 
According to Barakat, the commercial attache's primary role 
would be to focus on Jordan-Iraq bilateral trade. 
Separately, Jirallah said that an increasing number of Iraqis 
were appearing at the mission asking for any information 
about the security situation in Iraq, not for consular 
services. 
 
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COMMENT 
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5. (C) Barakat's demeanor was upbeat and hopeful.  His 
assertive request for the U.S. to focus on reconstruction was 
unusual given his reserved demeanor during previous meetings 
with PolOff. 
 
6. (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