US embassy cable - 04AMMAN5684

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005684 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: ACTIVISTS LAUNCH CAMPAIGN AGAINST GOJ SECURITY 
SUPPORT FOR IRAQ, CRITICIZE THE KING 
 
 
Classified By: DCM David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b),(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Media reports of King Abdullah's purported readiness 
to send troops to Iraq elicited a quick "clarification" by 
the Foreign Ministry while prompting opposition activists to 
launch a petition campaign against the government's Iraq 
policy.  One of the campaign organizers accused the King and 
GOJ of acting against the clear weight of public opinion. 
This opposition to the GOJ's support for Iraq is most 
noteworthy for its almost direct public criticism of the 
King, generally perceived here as a red line, but the King 
was dismissive of its impact in a conversation with DCM.  End 
Summary. 
 
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MEDIA FLAP 
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2.  (C) While in England promoting foreign investment in 
Jordan, King Abdullah gave an interview July 2 to the BBC. 
When asked whether Jordan would be willing to commit troops 
to Iraq, the King made clear this had not been discussed with 
the Iraqi Interim Government, but added that "if the Iraqi 
side would ask directly for our help it would be difficult 
for us to say to them no," and also stated that "our message 
to the Iraqi ... Prime Minister is tell us what you want, 
tell us how we can help and you have 110 percent from us." 
Taking these statements out of context -- and, according to 
the King, dropping additional qualifications he had added 
about needing an Iraqi request -- the international press 
hurriedly, and mistakenly, reported that Jordan was prepared 
to send troops to Iraq.  These reports ignited a flurry of 
phone calls to the Foreign Ministry (Ali al-Ayad, Director of 
FM Muasher's Private Office, told PolOff he had to turn off 
his cell phone as it was on the verge of "blowing up") and 
prompted the GOJ to issue a "clarification" explaining that 
GOJ support for Iraq did not include the deployment of troops 
as this would not be appropriate for countries sharing a 
border with Iraq. 
 
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ACTIVISTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST GOJ 
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3.  (U) The possibility of sending Jordanian troops to Iraq 
touched a raw nerve in Islamist political circles opposed to 
the GOJ's Iraq policy.  The Islamist Arabic weekly Al-Sabeel 
reported July 6 that "independent political activists" had 
launched a campaign to collect signatures for a petition 
against any decision to dispatch Jordanian forces to Iraq "to 
help repress the Iraqi people."  The petition claimed that 
the government was ignoring "all democratic norms by pursuing 
a policy against public opinion" and further accused the GOJ 
of "shady deals for training Iraqi policemen to serve the 
occupation." 
 
4.  (U) Also on July 6, the Arabic satellite news channel 
Al-Arabiyah broadcast a telephone interview with Layth 
Shubaylat, the former president of the Jordanian Engineers' 
Association and a long-time thorn in the regime's side. 
Shubaylat is one of the organizers of the petition drive and, 
prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, he had orchestrated a 
statement signed by 99 prominent Jordanians opposing 
involvement in the Iraq war.  Shubaylat claimed that the 
governor of Amman had summoned him for an immediate meeting, 
and then sent a group of policemen to his home when he 
refused to come until the following day.  Shubaylat 
criticized the GOJ's reaction to his campaign -- "This is not 
how dialogue is held" -- and asserted that the petition 
reflected a broad consensus "not only among the opposition, 
but also among the loyalists."  He alleged that even those 
who held government office opposed GOJ policy on Iraq, but 
that they "keep silent to keep their posts." 
 
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CRITICIZING THE KING? 
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5.  (C) Not only did Shubaylat attack the GOJ in his 
interview, but he also indirectly, though unambiguously, 
criticized King Abdullah himself.  Specifically, when asked 
by the Al-Arabiyah reporter about the King's statements to 
the BBC, Shubaylat replied, "According to the constitution, 
the Jordanian government is responsible for the statements 
and decisions of the King.  Thus the government is 
responsible for this statement.  The Jordanian people do not 
at all accept dispatching Jordanian troops to fight Iraqis in 
Iraq where there is an Iraqi resistance." 
 
6.  (C) Because of the nature of Shubaylat's criticism, the 
Jordanian establishment has taken notice of, but dismissed 
his campaign.  At a farewell lunch for the Ambassador, a 
prominent businessman who went to school with Shubaylat 
described the petition as "nonsense" and asked what had 
happened to his old friend.  The Secretary General of the 
Ministry of Political Development, rolling her eyes, 
dismissed the petition as rude but insignificant, and doubted 
whether it would have any influence on government policy or 
public opinion.  An editorial in the English-language daily 
"The Jordan Times" on July 8 accused the petitioners of 
distorting the facts and argued that helping Iraq is in 
Jordan's best interests.  As for the King himself, he told 
DCM July 8 that "you could have set your watch" by 
Shubaylat's predictable response, which he dismissed as the 
voice of figures who seek failure, not success, in Iraq. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (C) Shubaylat's harsh criticism against the GOJ's Iraq 
policy, though certainly controversial, is not unprecedented. 
 But by directly linking the government's Iraq policy to the 
King, he has undoubtedly pushed the generally accepted red 
lines of public dissent. 
 
8.  (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