US embassy cable - 05AMMAN4228

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KISL, KMPI, KPAL, ECON, EFIN, IZ, SU, SY, JO 
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK'S MAY 20 MEETING WITH 
KING ABDULLAH OF JORDAN 
 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 1.  (U) Friday, May 20, 2005, 1:30 p.m., King Hussein 
Convention Center, Dead Sea, Jordan. 
 
2.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
 
The Deputy Secretary 
Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary Ross Wilson 
Embassy Amman Charge d'Affaires David Hale (notetaker) 
Farah Pandith (NSC) 
 
Jordan 
 
King Abdullah II 
Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein 
Royal Court Minister Marwan Muasher 
Finance Minister Bassem Awadallah 
Foreign Minister Farouq Qasrawi 
Jordanian Ambassador to the U.S. Karim Kawar 
 
REFORM AND PROMOTING MODERATE ISLAM 
 
3.  (C) The Deputy Secretary reviewed the state-of-play in 
overall BMENA activities, and in that context praised 
Jordan's work in educational reform, the promotion of Islam's 
message of tolerance, and political decentralization.  He 
encouraged the King to consult with Malaysian PM Badawi, 
whose "Islam Hedari" initiative to start a broader debate 
about modern Islamic civilization seemed to parallel Jordan's 
"Amman message."  The King agreed on the value of 
coordination, and looked forward to a July conference in 
Amman that will broaden engagement in the Amman message to 
include non-Arab Muslim groups, including in southeast Asia, 
an area, especially in Thailand, where he saw dangerous 
extremist trends.  He pointed to Singapore, which he had 
recently visited, as a model of progressive thinking.  The 
King particularly admired how Singapore's educational 
curriculum promoted interfaith tolerance, and said he would 
include it as part of the Amman message process. 
 
SUDAN 
 
4.  (C) The Deputy Secretary, noting King Abdullah's contacts 
in Sudan, reviewed U.S. efforts and recent developments.  The 
Deputy Secretary outlined in brief our next diplomatic steps, 
including his plans for a June visit to meet first Vice 
President Taha.  The King acknowledged that because of his 
excellent relations with the Sudanese government, he had been 
asked many times to intercede on their behalf with the U.S. 
However, he did not believe they had reached a point of 
transparent motivations; until they were sincere, he said he 
has told them, he would not get in the middle diplomatically. 
 Jordan was prepared to contribute peacekeepers in the south; 
Jordan's positive experience in Croatia and East Timor 
demonstrated that Jordanian troops could help even in areas 
of Muslim/Christian conflict. 
 
IRAQ 
 
5.  (C) The Deputy Secretary recounted his May 19 visit to 
Iraq, where he was impressed by the rich potential of the 
country and the courage and conviction of its new leaders. 
The insurgency, having failed to stop the elections, now was 
targeting the constitutional process and seeking to stimulate 
sectarian violence.  However, despite some resistance in the 
UIA, sincere efforts were underway to bring Sunni figures 
into the political process.  The Deputy Secretary knew Jordan 
would continue to use its ties to the Sunni community to 
help.  He also stressed the need for more Muslim voices to 
condemn Zarqawi's indiscriminate murder and outrageous 
statements.  The King said the U.S. could count on Jordan's 
continual cooperation. 
 
PALESTINIAN BADR BRIGADE 
 
6.  (C) The King raised the Badr Brigade, a Palestinian 
security unit trained by the Jordanians but never deployed in 
the West Bank as intended.  He said Shimon Peres had 
explained to him that Israel now opposed their deployment 
because of concern that these outsiders could generate 
tensions within the existing security elements.  The King 
observed that President Abbas remained supportive of their 
deployment, and should be a better judge than the Israelis of 
their impact on other units. 
 
DEBT RELIEF AND GULF STATES OIL GRANTS 
 
7.  (C) Finance Minister Awadallah expressed gratitude for 
U.S. supplemental assistance and outlined Jordan's fiscal 
challenges in familiar terms.  Oil price rises have added 
$255 million annually to the budget bill; Jordan needs help 
from the Saudis and others to meet its oil needs while 
reducing its use of subsidies and dependence on oil aid over 
a three year period.  Jordan also needed help to further 
reduce its debt burden.  Beyond raising the debt swap ceiling 
from 30 to 50%, Jordan sought cancellation of 80% of its 
debt.  World Bank and IMF leaders attending the World 
Economic Forum had said a case could be made for debt relief 
based on oil price shock.  Awadallah hoped language helpful 
to Jordan could be inserted in the Gleneagles G-8 summit 
communiqu.  The Deputy Secretary acknowledged that Jordan 
faced a difficult fiscal challenge and asked for further 
background information.  On oil assistance, the Deputy 
Secretary noted the President had encouraged Saudi Crown 
 
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Prince Abdullah to help during their Crawford meeting, and we 
would continue to urge support from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and 
the UAE. 
 
SYRIA 
 
8.  (C) Turning to Syria, the King said he and Prime Minister 
Jaafari were in agreement with the U.S. on the continued flow 
of insurgents from there to Iraq.  Syria was playing the same 
old game.  The Deputy Secretary stressed the need to maintain 
international pressure on Syria.  The King agreed, and said 
he understood that in coordination with the President, Crown 
Prince Abdullah had delivered a tough message to Bashar 
al-Asad during the Saudi's recent visit to Damascus. 
 
9.  (U) This cable has been cleared by the Deputy Secretary. 
 
10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
HALE