US embassy cable - 05AMMAN3696

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQI PRESIDENT CONCLUDES TWO-DAY VISIT TO JORDAN 
 
REF: AMMAN 3231 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Jordanians and Iraqis have characterized Iraqi 
President Jalal Talabani's two-day visit to Jordan May 7-8 as 
a success.  The two sides pledged to cooperate even more 
closely on security and counterterrorism.  Talabani told a 
local daily that the U.S. military presence is still needed 
in Iraq to defend against foreign terrorists that are coming 
from other Arab countries "not including Jordan, Saudi 
Arabia, and Kuwait."  Foreign Minister Zebari said he hoped 
the "issue" of Ahmad Chalabi could be solved; privately, the 
King told Charge the GOJ has established a back channel with 
the new DPM to deal with the matter.  In a further sign that 
relations are on the mend, Iraq's Ambassador to Jordan, who 
was recalled to Baghdad in March after a Jordanian was 
reported responsible for the Hillah suicide bombing, returned 
to his post this week.  The King told us Talabani was very 
usefully focused on ending infiltrations from Syria, had 
gained a wariness of Tehran, and saw reinforcing the state's 
security institutions as a primary task.  End Summary. 
 
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SECURITY COOPERATION TOPS THE AGENDA 
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2.  (C)  Security cooperation and fighting terrorism topped 
the agenda during Iraqi President Talabani's two-day visit to 
Jordan May 7-8.  In comments that were carried widely by the 
local media, King Abdullah affirmed that bilateral relations 
were moving forward: "We are determined to remove all 
obstacles that could impede progress of these relations and 
Jordan is keen on building close and strong relations with 
the new Iraq."  For his part, Talabani said in an interview 
with Arabic daily al-Rai that his talks with King Abdullah on 
May 7 were "excellent," saying that Jordan and Iraq see eye 
to eye on the need to enhance bilateral ties, security 
cooperation and combating terrorism.  The King echoed this 
assessment in private, telling visiting General Abizaid and 
Charge on May 9 that his meetings with the Iraqis were very 
positive, and that he was pleased that the Iraqis chose 
Jordan for their first official visit in the region.  The 
Jordanians will follow up with the Iraqi defense minister to 
discuss in detail military cooperation, according to the 
King, including the possibility of offering excess military 
equipment to the Iraqi forces.  He mentioned that his letter 
to President Bush, carried to Washington by new National 
Security Adviser Saad Kheir over the weekend, underscored 
Jordan's commitment to encourage the ethnic groups of Iraq to 
work together and to generate a counterweight to Iranian 
influence.  The King said that Jordan was doing its best to 
tamp down mosque rhetoric that praised the "resistance" in 
Iraq, commenting that the virulent rhetoric came from 
elements opposed to his own leadership as well. 
 
3.  (C)  Foreign Minister Zebari, who accompanied Talabani, 
told reporters after meeting acting Foreign Minister Alia 
Hattough-Bouran on May 8: "We believe that there are many 
terrorist networks which are taking advantage of the current 
situation in the region and trying to maneuver their way in 
Iraq.  These groups are coming from the outside and we want 
to magnify our security cooperation to combat them." 
Talabani told al-Rai that U.S. forces must remain in Iraq to 
prevent "external interference" and to stabilize the country. 
 In a veiled reference to Syria, he said there was 
"tremendous and unlimited external interference," adding that 
insurgents in Iraq receive financial aid, training and media 
support "from some Arab countries, which do not include 
Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."  Privately, the King told 
Charge that Talabani related that his first priority is to 
engage Syria on this matter. 
 
4.  (U)  Talabani on May 8 also met with PM Badran, chamber 
of deputies Abdul Hadi Majali, and Senate President Zeid 
Rifai.  In a further sign that Jordanian-Iraqi ties are on 
the mend, Iraq's ambassador to Amman, Ata Abd al-Wahab, 
returned to Jordan on May 7 after he was recalled to Baghdad 
for consultations in the aftermath of reports that a 
Jordanian citizen was responsible for a suicide bombing in 
Hillah. 
 
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GOJ WORKING ON THE CHALABI "ISSUE" 
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5. (C)  Talabani told al-Rai that he discussed the issue of 
new DPM Ahmad Chalabi, convicted by Jordan's State Security 
Court in 1992 on bank fraud charges, with King Abdullah 
during his visit.  "(Chalabi) played an opposition role 
against Saddam Hussein's dictatorship... I asked His Majesty 
to politically solve the issue and, I think, Chalabi wants to 
resolve the matter in a satisfactory way to both sides." 
Separately, Zebari told reporters that he hoped the "issue" 
of DPM Chalabi could be resolved.  "Chalabi is now a leading 
member in the Iraqi government.  He was elected and we look 
forward to settling this issue.  We want to resolve the 
matter without any embarrassment to either side." 
Privately, the King told Charge that the Jordanians have set 
up a "back channel" with Chalabi and are trying to figure out 
a way to deal with Chalabi's fugitive status in Jordan, as 
well as come up with a mechanism to forgive his outstanding 
debt in Jordan.  A complicating factor, according to the 
King, is that Chalabi owes more than $300 million to private 
individuals, not institutions.  He said that he was heartened 
to hear from Talabani that he (and apparently Chalabi as 
well) now seemed to have shifted and begun to recognize 
Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs as a problem. 
 
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IRAQIS IN JORDAN PRAISE THE VISIT 
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6.  (C)  Several Iraqi contacts resident in Jordan lauded the 
Talabani visit, and praised the King for his outreach to the 
Iraqi leadership.  They said the King's efforts would go a 
long way in countering the support among many ordinary 
Jordanians for the "resistance" in Iraq.  An Iraqi working 
for a German development organization in Jordan told poloff 
that he is much more optimistic about the future of 
Jordanian-Iraqi relations now that the King has come out very 
publicly in support of the Iraqi Transitional Government.  He 
believes the tide is turning against support for the 
"resistance" in Jordan, in large part due to the King's 
efforts.  However, he warned that the lack of security in 
Iraq looms over everything.  Yasin Elewy, an Iraqi 
businessman who met with Talabani during his visit, said 
Talabani struck him as a simple man, but "hard as nails," and 
one who would "stand up" for Iraq.  He viewed the King's 
efforts to intervene with the Jordanian press (ref A) as 
necessary to protect Iraqi interests and also to move the 
bilateral relationship forward.  This upbeat reaction was 
echoed in the Jordanian press.  In a view echoed by numerous 
commentators, al-Rai chief editor wrote an op-ed piece that 
Jordan and Iraq were opening a new positive chapter in their 
relationship. 
 
7.  (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