US embassy cable - 05AMMAN255

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000255 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
BAGHDAD FOR FAS JAMES SMITH, ANITA KATIAL 
BAGHDAD FOR ECON JAMES BOUGHNER 
BAGHDAD ALSO FOR USAID ROBERT PIERCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ELTN, ETRD, PREL, ECON, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN TO EXPEDITE FOOD TRUCKS TO AND FROM IRAQ 
 
REF: A. 04 BAGHDAD 02299 (NOTAL) 
     B. 04 AMMAN 10012 (NOTAL) 
     C. BAGHDAD 62 (NOTAL) 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. FOR USG USE ONLY. NOT FOR 
INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Jordanian Customs officials confirmed 
January 4 that they have begun expediting outbound food 
trucks destined for Iraq under the Public Distribution System 
(PDS).  Customs Director General Mahmoud Quteishat said that 
GOJ customs is prepared to implement a seven-day, 24-hour 
clearance schedule for recognizable, empty food trucks 
entering Jordan from Iraq to pick up more food.  He urged his 
Iraqi counterparts to quickly devise a system similar to that 
formerly used by the World Food Program (WFP) to designate 
such trucks for their quick entry into Jordan.  Quteishat 
also outlined fast-track, multiagency GOJ plans to turn the 
entry of trucks from Iraq into Jordan to a 24/7 operation. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
Special Food Truck Lane Into Iraq 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  Daman Fawaz, Customs Director at the Al Kerama 
border station with Iraq (opposite Trebil) told Acting Econ/C 
January 4 that PFD trucks with humanitarian food are moving 
eastward through the old "WFP lane" without incident.  He 
emphasized that 100-200 food trucks are passing through the 
special Al Kerama lane daily, that the process was proceeding 
smoothly, and that not a single food truck was waiting on the 
Jordanian side to pass into Iraq. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Fawaz said that he understood Jordanian Minister 
of Finance Mohammad Abu Hammour (who oversees Customs) has 
decided to open the border checkpoint for all incoming 
vehicles from Iraq around the clock (up to now, the 24-hour 
service is only made available to passenger traffic from 
Iraq).  Currently, 100 percent of trucks coming in from Iraq 
are screened (per Ref A) during the hours of 0730 to 1830, he 
stated.  He added that the Customs Department was already 
working on securing the manpower and extra nighttime lighting 
systems required to move to a 24-hour-a-day operation.  Only 
a single lane is currently lit at night on the incoming side, 
he said.  Fawaz stated that about 600-700 trucks were coming 
through to Jordan from Iraq daily. 
 
4.  (SBU)  In a call on Customs DG Quteishat, Acting Econ/C 
thanked him for the GOJ's cooperation on PFD-related issues, 
but emphasized the importance of continuing food shipments 
transiting Jordan to Iraq on an expedited basis, including 
accommodating the quick re-entry of empty food trucks to 
continue their important missions.  Quteishat confirmed that 
an interagency security committee has been formed and had met 
that day to move forward on plans for the capability to 
receive trucks at all times at Al Kerama.  This would 
facilitate empty trucks coming in to obtain food from ships 
at Aqaba, he said.  A special committee will be going to Al 
Kerama on January 5 to survey a new truck yard on the 
incoming side, and outline needs for night-time lighting, he 
said.  Quteishat did not elaborate, saying only that the plan 
would be completed "soon." 
 
An Interim Solution for Entering Empty Food Trucks 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
5.  (SBU)  Quteishat said that the GOJ would be willing 
"tomorrow" to accept the 24-hour, fast-track entry of empty 
Iraqi food trucks, provided that they were recognizable as 
such.  He recalled that under the UN Oil for Food Program, 
WFP trucks had an identifiable sign placed in the windshield 
at the border, that afforded them such expedited treatment. 
Quteishat stressed that in order for this system to work 
well, the Iraqi officials at the Trebil exit point would need 
to "split off" empty PFD trucks into a fast lane. 
 
6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  From our vantage point, the land 
transport of PFD foods from Jordan into Iraq appears to be 
operating well.  Embassy believes GOJ Customs is fully 
prepared to act on the commitments outlined here to expedite 
the transit of food shipments to Iraq (including the re-entry 
of empty food trucks into Jordan), provided that they can 
obtain the appropriate response from their Iraqi 
counterparts.  If Iraqi officials are interested in pursuing 
this course, they may wish to contact Customs DG Quteishat to 
work out the modalities of the temporary system for entry of 
empty food trucks.   These measures, combined with more 
effective traffic management on the Iraqi side of the border, 
should significantly reduce the current problem of 
20-kilometer queues of westbound trucking waiting to leave 
Iraq, noted in Ref (A). 
 
7.  (U)  Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE