US embassy cable - 05AMMAN2714

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002714 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, PREL, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN CHARGE RETURNS TO BAGHDAD; MEDIA 
CHANGING THEIR TUNE ON THE "NOBLE IRAQI RESISTANCE" 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 02382 
 
     B. AMMAN 02297 
     C. AMMAN 02218 
     D. AMMAN 02131 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U)  Jordan's charge d'affaires returned to Baghdad on 
March 24.  The King has taken a conciliatory stand, 
emphasizing in a press interview Jordan's strong support for 
Iraq, highlighting Jordan's ongoing training of Iraqi 
security forces and its commitment to secure the 
Iraqi-Jordanian border.  The local media are taking a more 
sober look at their past reporting on the so-called "noble 
resistance."  Privately and in print, many seem chastened by 
the Iraqi reaction and critical of their own coverage of the 
violence in Iraq.  End Summary. 
 
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JORDANIANS WORKING TO COOL THE SITUATION 
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2.  (C)  On the King's orders, Jordan's Charge d'Affaires 
Dimai Haddad returned to Baghdad via commercial air on March 
24 and will conduct business out of a hotel in Baghdad until 
the security situation at Jordan's Baghdad embassy improves 
(refs).  Meanwhile, having cut short his international 
travels to attend to domestic politics, including the clumsy 
GOJ response to the suicide bomber story, the King is 
determined to set the record straight on Jordanian-Iraqi 
relations.  In meetings with official visitors and in public 
interviews, he has underscored Jordan's tangible support for 
Iraq over the last year, its commitment to fighting 
terrorism, and the priority it attaches to maintaining border 
security to catch would-be infiltrators into Iraq. 
 
3.  (C)  During a widely-publicized interview with al-Hayat 
on March 23, King Abdullah said that Jordan will maintain its 
strong counterterrorism stand, and that Jordanian-Iraqi ties 
remain close.  "Jordan has the most secure borders with Iraq. 
 We trained Iraqi police and army officers and provided the 
Iraqi government with everything it asked from us," Abdullah 
said.  In private, Jordanian officials are quick to note 
their view that the majority of foreign fighters are entering 
Iraq from Syria and Iran, not Jordan.  The GOJ points to its 
support of out-of-country voting for Iraqis in January (Amman 
served as headquarters for the 14-country operation), its 
push to encourage Sunni participation in the political 
process, its extensive training programs for Iraqi police and 
military personnel in Jordan, and its support for Iraq's 
economic reconstruction. 
 
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BUT STILL ON THE DEFENSIVE 
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4.  (C)  The visceral reaction of Iraqis to reports that a 
Jordanian family celebrated the so-called martyrdom of their 
Hilla bomber caught the GOJ -- and ordinary Jordanians -- 
off-guard, and put them on the defensive.  Jordanians contend 
that even if Jordanian citizen Ra'ed al-Banna was proved 
responsible for the Hilla bombing -- and Jordanians claim 
this is not proven -- it does not mean that the GOJ, or 
ordinary Jordanians condone the act.  During the al-Hayat 
interview, King Abdullah expressed surprise at the 
accusations that Jordan abetted the resistance in Iraq, 
saying, "they were baseless.  I wondered about the reasons 
behind them and their timing.  I still believe that the 
relations between the Jordanians and the Iraqis are much 
stronger than that, but they accusations were made at a time 
when we needed to stick together." 
 
5.  (U)  Meanwhile, during an interview with al-Jazeera 
satellite channel on March 25, Jordanian member of Parliament 
Mamdouh al-Abbadi rejected a demand from Iraqi Vice President 
Ibrahim al-Ja'fari (appearing on the same program) that 
Jordan issue an apology "proportional to the size of" the 
suicide bombing in Hilla and open an investigation.  Claiming 
that responsibility for the bombing has not been confirmed, 
Abbadi said: "I am surprised at the statement of brother 
Ibrahim al-Ja'fari, who is known for his moderation and 
wisdom.  He knows that we do not apologize for something we 
have not done.  He knows that we condemn all terrorist 
operations, especially against civilians, women and children, 
as happened in al-Hillah.  He knows that.  We are surprised 
at this escalation.  We do not believe that Iraq needs an 
escalation with its neighbors, especially Jordan, which 
harbors every respect for the Iraqi people."  He blamed the 
"escalation" on "persons with special agendas within the new 
Iraqi system," and said that Jordan would "never apologize 
for something we have not done." 
 
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JORDANIANS' EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE COMPLICATE MATTERS 
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6.  (C)  Convinced that a hidden hand orchestrated the 
demonstrations at the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad (Iran and 
Ahmad Chalabi are most often named as culprits), press and 
popular emotions swung at first to reflexive nationalism but 
may now be cooling with the realization that Jordan needs 
pragmatic relations with the new Iraq.  The al-Banna affair 
seems to have woken up the GOJ to the realization that it 
must work harder to communicate to its population the 
rationale for its support of the new government in Iraq, and 
make the case that decisions are in Jordan's best long-term 
interest.  The GOJ may now understand -- a bit too late -- 
that its failure to counter ordinary Jordanians' opposition 
to the U.S. war in Iraq has contributed in great part to the 
Jordanian street's support for the "resistance" no matter the 
indications and constant flow of information that the 
"resistance" to occupation was actually targeting Iraqis, not 
the American "occupiers."  Jordanians' widespread prejudice 
(and fear) of the Shi'a -- and of what Iran may be doing to 
manipulate the situation in Iraq -- is on many Jordanians' 
minds, from the King on down. 
 
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JOURNALISTS CHANGE TACK ON "HEROIC IRAQI RESISTANCE" 
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7. (C)  In the wake of the controversy over the alleged 
Jordanian suicide bomber, Jordanian editorialists and 
commentators are taking a more sober look at their uncritical 
reporting on the so-called "noble resistance" in Iraq.  At a 
recent small gathering of Jordanian politicians, Uraib 
al-Rintawi, a Palestinian-origin columnist for the Arabic 
daily Ad-Dustour, said the Hilla story had exposed the 
glorification of suicide operations in Iraq by the Jordanian 
press since the fall of Baghdad.  In recent private 
conversations, Rintawi and other journalists criticized the 
"knee-jerk praise" for young men who blow themselves up in 
Iraq in the name of Islam and the failure of Jordanian 
commentators to make it clear that it is Iraqi civilians and 
young security recruits who make up the great majority of the 
victims.  This misguided Arab nationalism and hatred against 
the American occupation, according to Rintawi, has inspired 
fanaticism among Jordanian youth and enraged Iraqis, posing a 
grave danger to Jordan's national interests both domestically 
and vis-a-vis Iraq. 
 
8.  (U)  In a rare instance of self-criticism, Jordanian 
commentators have written articles recently denouncing 
"resistance" martyrs and attacking their own coverage of the 
operations that target Iraqis.  "Those who support such 
actions and describe them as heroic...are simply responding 
to primitive, sick and shameful instincts," wrote an Al-Ghad 
columnist.  Other editorialists denounced the 
"misinterpretation of Jihad that deforms Islam and its noble 
meanings."  Commentators have not, however, discussed their 
coverage of attacks on the U.S. "occupiers," which many 
Jordanians still consider legitimate "resistance." 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C)  Until the al-Banna affair, criticism of the "noble 
resistance" in the local media -- or in private conversations 
-- was almost unheard of.  No doubt the new trend was partly 
inspired by GOJ statements denouncing the attacks against 
Iraqis as well as the outrage expressed by Iraqi leaders and 
ordinary citizens, if not outright pressure from the GOJ to 
put out the "right" message.  The detention (and release) of 
the reporter who wrote about the al-Banna family's alleged 
celebration of their son's martyrdom no doubt also had a 
chilling effect.  The sharp reaction from Iraq seems not only 
to have deflated the resistance-boosters, but also to have 
forced Jordanian commentators to admit that their distorted 
take on the violence, however gratifying it may be to the 
emotions of the street, is proving to be very much a 
double-edged sword for Jordan's interests at home and in the 
region.  It also may have forced the GOJ to take a more 
active approach to defending its policy to a skeptical public. 
 
9.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE