US embassy cable - 04AMMAN6574

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006574 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2014 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, JO, IQ 
SUBJECT: FOUR JORDANIAN HOSTAGES FREED IN IRAQ 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 6456 
     B. AMMAN 6370 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (U)  Four Jordanian citizens kidnapped in Iraq last week 
have been freed as a result of the intervention of Iraqi 
tribal leaders and the Muslim Ulema Committee in Fallujah, 
according to MFA official Ali al-Ayed.  Press reports 
indicate that Iraqi Shaykh Haj Ibrahim Jassam learned on 
August 3 that four kidnapped Jordanians were being held in a 
house in Fallujah, and he then organized a raid to free them. 
 Once the raid began on August 4, according to the shaykh, 
the kidnappers fled the house and the hostages were brought 
to his home unharmed.  Al-Ayed told reporters that no 
concessions had been made to the kidnappers, describing them 
as "bandits."   The fate of two truck drivers kidnapped on 
July 26 remains unknown.  The circumstances surrounding a 
missing businessman from Ramtha -- reported earlier this week 
as a seventh hostage -- remained unclear. 
 
2.  (U)  Perhaps in response to some public criticism the GOJ 
was not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages 
(on August 2 the families of two of the hostages had gone to 
the Royal Court demanding GOJ action for their release), MFA 
officials had scheduled a press conference on August 4 to 
announce the hostage release.  However, it was canceled after 
the men's arrival in Jordan was delayed.  The men were first 
transported to the Jordanian field hospital in Fallujah Iraq 
for a medical checkup.  MFA official Ashraf Zeitoon told 
PolOff on August 5 that the men were en route to Jordan to be 
reunited with their families. 
 
3.  (C)  Observers note that animosity towards Jordan among 
some Iraqis (and foreign militants holed up in Iraq) almost 
certainly has played a role in the kidnappers' targeting 
decisions, noting that Syrian truckers, for example, have not 
(yet) met the same fate as their Jordanian counterparts. 
Unsurprisingly, the kidnappings have had a deleterious effect 
on Jordanian truckers' willingness to make trip, fearing for 
their safety.  Unconfirmed press reports indicate that some 
Jordanian truckers have been forced to sign papers relieving 
their company of responsibility for their safety once in 
Iraq.  Contacts tell us Iraqi truckers are picking up the 
slack. 
 
3.  (C)  Comment:  The release of the four Jordanians will 
help lower the volume of criticism directed at the GOJ for 
its handling of the hostage crisis, although the GOJ's role 
in the latest turn of events, if any, remains unclear.  Post 
will attempt to verify the GOJ's public claim that it did not 
make any concessions to the kidnappers.  Regardless, its 
failure to take a strong public stand against the terrorists 
after the first two hostages were taken probably encouraged 
the subsequent kidnappings.  Ironically, those two men are 
still not free despite their employer's acquiescence (with 
GOJ support) to the kidnappers' demands. 
 
4.  (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. 
HALE