US embassy cable - 04AMMAN9097

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 009097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KPAL, IS, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: NODEL WEXLER MEETING WITH KING ABDULLAH 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (C) In a November 8 meeting with NODEL Wexler, King 
Abdullah advocated early Palestinian elections to replace 
Yaser Arafat with a new generation of leaders.  The King 
urged that a new leadership be quickly empowered to improve 
socio-economic conditions to bolster its legitimacy among the 
Palestinian people.  On Iraq, the King was hopeful that 
elections could be held in January, but said that achieving 
positive election results was more important than timing. 
End Summary. 
 
---------------------- 
POST-ARAFAT LEADERSHIP 
---------------------- 
 
2.  (C) King Abdullah, along with Minister of Planning 
Awadallah and Deputy Prime Minister/Acting Foreign Minister 
Muasher, met with the members of NODEL Wexler on November 8. 
The King said that achieving progress on the 
Palestinian-Israeli front was vital.  He questioned whether 
Arafat's health would allow him to be a viable leader, even 
if Arafat pulled through his current medical crisis. 
According to the King, Egyptian President Mubarak believed 
that Arafat was the only Palestinian with the stature needed 
to sign and implement a peace agreement.  The King differed 
with this assessment; he said Arafat had proven incapable of 
signing a deal.  The Palestinians needed to turn now to a new 
generation of leaders.  Whether Arafat died or lingered on, 
the King advocated early Palestinian elections to help get a 
stronger government and a legitimate Prime Minister in place. 
 
 
3.  (C) Asked what the U.S. could do to help a new 
Palestinian leadership, the King said "mistakes" leading to 
the resignation of former Palestinian PM Abu Mazen -- i.e., 
"lack of adequate support" at the beginning of his tenure and 
Israel's "continual changing of the goal posts" for his 
expected performance -- had to be avoided.  As soon as the 
new leadership emerged, the King advised, it must be 
empowered by providing it the means to have an impact on the 
socio-economic level.  The Palestinian people needed to see 
right away how they would benefit from a new team. 
 
----- 
IRAQ 
---- 
 
4.  (C) King Abdullah said he was hopeful that the January 
time-table for Iraqi elections could be met.  However, if 
security conditions did not improve, he stated that a brief 
delay, such as occurred this summer in holding a national 
conference to choose the interim National Council, might be 
advisable to ensure the desired results.  Holding proper 
elections on a national level and achieving a positive 
outcome was more important than election timing, expressed 
the King.  The fact that Ayatollah Sistani, at the urging of 
Iran, wanted early elections had to be seen as a warning 
sign.  Royal Court Minister Samir Rifai added that 
transitioning from a state of emergency directly to elections 
might be "too fast." 
 
5.  (C) The King said that if Iraqi security forces are to 
allow U.S. forces to re-deploy, they must be given longer, 
more flexible training courses.  He spoke of the damage of 
de-Baathification and claimed that it had sidelined the 
entire intelligentsia and professional classes, including 
doctors and surgeons.  The King hoped that ways could be 
found to "bring back" these people, especially the mature 
core of the military.  While the IIG should identify and 
exclude "the bad guys," the rest needed to be drawn back in. 
 
6.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE