US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5510

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005510 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, JO 
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S JULY 10, 2005 MEETING WITH KING 
ABDULLAH 
 
Classified By: Charge David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) 
 
1.  (U) Deputy Secretary's meeting with King Abdullah on July 
10, 2005, 11:30 a.m., Amman, Jordan. 
 
2.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
Deputy Secretary Zoellick 
Mr. Natsios, AID Administrator 
Ms. O'Sullivan, NSC 
Mr. Ross Wilson, D Executive Assistant 
Charge (notetaker) 
 
Jordan 
King Abdullah II 
Foreign Minister Qasrawi 
Mr. Abdullah Woreikat, Royal Court Policy Coordination 
Director 
Ms. Rania Atallah, Royal Palace Communications Director 
 
3.  (C) Summary.  The Deputy Secretary and the King reviewed 
the outcome of the Islamic Conference recently held in Amman; 
the King plans to build on that initiative with a possible 
conference focused on Iraqi Sunni/Shia reconciliation, and 
with outreach to western Muslim communities during his 
September travels.  The King reiterated his offer to train 
Palestinian security forces and pledged to push parliament to 
pass an anti-money laundering bill and ratify the Article 98 
agreement this summer.  End summary. 
 
4.  (C) The Deputy Secretary praised Jordan's success in 
hosting an Islamic Conference the previous week.  The King 
said it was the first time representatives of all the major 
sects came together to establish the parameters of the faith, 
thus isolating extremist takfiri groups as apart from Islam. 
He was particularly pleased that the group reiterated the 
methodology of issuing fatwas, which come properly from 
institutions operating with checks and balances.  This step 
will make clear that fatwas issued by unqualified 
individuals, such as Zarqawi, are illegitimate.  He hoped the 
quickest impact would be seen in Iraq, where Ayatollah 
Sistani's full support for this initiative could bring 
dividends in ending the violence.  The King said he was 
exploring ideas on next steps, possibly to include a 
conference of Iraqi Sunni and Shia leaders, both secular and 
religious, to denounce violence between Muslims and to build 
on the fatwas issued at last week's conference.  As this was 
still at an embryonic stage, the King asked for 
confidentiality.  He thought the impact of such a conference 
 
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could be immediate among the Shia, given their comparatively 
strong and disciplined hierarchy.  A trickier part was 
identifying Sunni figures who could command authority.  If 
Sunni/Shia tension could be stabilized in Iraq, this same 
mechanism could be used in Bahrain, Pakistan, and elsewhere. 
The fact that clerics from Qum, Najaf, and Saudi Arabia 
joined together in this effort made a powerful mechanism, 
which could now be built on.  The political leaderships in 
Tehran and Riyadh may now feel a bit cornered by this 
initiative.  Another step ahead was to build support within 
the OIC, to win endorsement at the next summit in Jeddah. 
 
5.  (C) The Deputy Secretary applauded the King's efforts. 
He encouraged Jordan to work with Malaysian Prime Minister 
Abdullah Badawi, whose "Islam Hedari" initiative had some 
important parallels to the King's efforts.  He also 
appreciated the King's effort to use the conference results 
to reinforce condemnation of the London bombings.  The King 
said there was strong British and American Muslim 
representation at the Amman meeting, and he would work with 
those communities to spread the message of the conference. 
He had delayed doing so until the success of the Islamic 
Conference, but his September trip to the U.S. offered 
several opportunities for work within Muslim communities and 
with Christian and Jewish leaders.  He planned to address 
Catholic University on the themes of the Islamic conference 
and of interfaith coexistence.  The King pointed in 
particular to the conference's reiteration of the Islamic 
tradition that Muslims living in non-Muslim states have a 
responsibility to obey the laws of those societies so long as 
Muslims there were given security and freedom of worship. 
 
6.  (C) The Deputy Secretary thanked Jordan for hosting the 
July 18-19 meeting of the International Reconstruction Trust 
Fund Facility for Iraq (IRRFI) and for Jordan's offer to 
provide security training to Palestinian forces.  The King 
renewed the offer but said that Sharon's refusal to allow 
even basic equipment and vehicles ) not weapons - to 
Palestinian security units was problematic.  When asked for 
his assessment, the King said Lebanon seemed to be making 
strides and Syrian officials were beginning to feel the 
pressure.  However, they were offering just those concessions 
they judged sufficient to remove that pressure.  No 
determination to change policy had been made, and their 
efforts to control terrorist border infiltrations remained 
inadequate. 
7.  (C) The King thanked the Deputy Secretary for U.S. 
efforts to assist Jordan, both directly and by encouraging 
others to help.  He noted that Bahrain's King Hamad called 
him over the weekend to say he had asked the Saudis to 
provide half of Bahrain's own Saudi oil assistance grant to 
Jordan.  In a brief discussion of Jordan's request for debt 
swaps, the Deputy Secretary suggested continued discussion 
was needed including in political channels.  Jordan's 
determination to correct its fiscal situation ) evident in 
the July 8 announcement of a graduated end to oil subsidies 
) would help in making the case for support.   In response 
to the Deputy Secretary's request, the King and Foreign 
Minister pledged the government would seek passage of an 
anti-money laundering bill and ratification of the Article 98 
agreement during this summer's extraordinary parliamentary 
session.  The King also pledged continued focus on the full 
range of reforms, including regionalization. 
 
8.  (U) D staff cleared this message.  Department please 
repeat as appropriate. 
HALE