US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5913

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005913 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, PREL, KPAO, ECON, EG, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIANS CONDEMN SHARM AL-SHEIKH BOMBINGS 
 
REF: AMMAN 5859 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Christopher Henzel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
) 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY:  King Abdullah led Jordan's public 
condemnation of the July 23 bombings in Sharm al-Sheikh, 
calling the attacks "barbaric" acts of terrorism that have no 
grounding in Islam.  He telephoned President Mubarak to 
express Jordan's solidarity with Egypt, as ordinary 
Jordanians and the media expressed their shock at the 
senselessness of the attacks.  Meanwhile, Jordan's security 
services stepped up security at tourist attractions and 
hotels throughout the country.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U)  King Abdullah on July 23 condemned the terrorist 
attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh as "barbaric," and vowed no let up 
in the fight against terrorism.  He also telephoned and sent 
a cable to Egyptian President Mubarak, reiterating Jordan's 
support for Egypt "under the current difficult 
circumstances," according to Jordan's official news agency 
Petra.  Meanwhile, PM Badran telephoned his Egyptian 
counterpart Ahmad Nazif to express his condolences and pledge 
Jordan's support.  Deputy PM and government spokesperson 
Marwan Muasher also issued a statement condemning the attacks. 
 
3.  (U)  The bombings received extensive front-page coverage 
in all local papers on July 24, and lead editorials and 
commentaries almost exclusively focused on the carnage.  The 
press focused on such attacks' incompatibility with Islam, 
and called on the world, especially Arabs and Muslims, to 
speak out clearly and forcefully against terrorism (reftel). 
Chief editor of Arabic daily al-Ghad called on "Arabs and 
Muslims to express their rejection and condemnation of these 
acts publicly, and by various means, starting with 
demonstrations by millions in Arab capitals from Amman to 
Rabat, and from Damascus to Cairo, in a popular action that 
says to terrorists: 'You are not of us, nor of our faith, and 
our cases are innocent of your acts.'" 
 
4.  (C)  The fact that the bombings caused mainly Egyptian 
casualties -- in a place where many Jordanians vacation -- 
has horrified Jordan.  Noting that the bombings in Egypt 
followed closely the attacks in London, and against the 
backdrop of ongoing violence in Iraq, Lebanon and Israel, 
some worry it is the prelude to a larger and more frightening 
period of violence in the region.  University of Jordan 
political science professor Mohammad Kheir Mustafa commented 
that what happened in Sharm was no less dangerous than what 
happened in London, and means that the "hand of terrorism can 
reach anywhere."  Reflecting widespread fears, he speculated 
that Jordan might be one of the coming targets.   President 
of Mu'ta University Suleiman Arabiyat said such seemingly 
senseless and random violence makes positive movement on the 
peace process and towards stabilizing Iraq that much more 
critical.  Director of al-Quds Center for Political Studies 
Ureib al-Rintawi termed the attacks as a "fatal blow" to 
Egypt's economy and representative of the failure of the war 
on terrorism.  The Sharm and London attacks show that there 
is a new generation of terrorists who have no criminal 
record, proving "we will live long" with this phenomenon. 
 
5.  (C)  Reflecting the high threat environment and real 
concern about attacks here, Jordan's Public Security 
Directorate (PSD) has heightened security at Jordan's hotels, 
shopping malls, and tourist sites, including those in Amman, 
Aqaba, the Dead Sea, and Petra.  Post security contacts 
report that more security checkpoints have been set up around 
tourist sites to better screen persons entering those sites. 
The Jerash Cultural Festival and the Global Village are 
receiving special security attention with the deployment of 
explosive detection dogs and additional security personnel. 
Public Security Director (PSD) General Muhammad Majid 
al-Eitan reviewed with Charge on July 25 measures taken in 
the wake of the bombings.  Eitan, on secondment from the JAF 
and one of the Jordanian military's ablest officers, said 
stepped-up measures include both fixed and mobile patrols at 
all of Jordan's premier hotels and tourist sites.  Aqaba 
itself he described as "sealed off" and well penetrated by 
intelligence officers.  He had personally reviewed the 
measures at Amman-area hotels and embassies, often making 
late-night spot inspections, sometimes in plainclothes, to 
satisfy himself on the state of readiness.  He termed the 
threat of terrorist attacks in Jordan as real, although no 
new, specific threat information related to westerners had 
developed.  His main concern was that the highly visible 
security precautions at hotels, tourist sites, and embassies 
would push terrorists to look at even softer targets, with 
Amman-area shopping malls being a considerable preoccupation. 
 Eitan said he had visited Taba and Sharm al-Sheikh recently, 
and given the weak security measures in place, was not 
surprised by the attacks.  He had repeatedly warned his 
Egyptian counterpart that there were insufficient numbers of 
uniformed police at hotels and in the town.  He believed they 
provided an essential deterrent that plainclothes police do 
not provide. 
 
No Economic Impact Yet 
6.  (U)  Officials confirmed that tourist activity in the Red 
Sea port and resort town of Aqaba (and the ferry transport 
service between Aqaba and Nweibeh in Egypt) were so far 
unaffected by the bombings.  Hotels in Aqaba -- which local 
boosters hope to make the "Sharm al-Sheikh of Jordan"-- 
continue to report high occupancy rates, according to Aqaba 
Special Economic Zone Authority chief commissioner Nader 
Dahabi, who said no reservations for foreign vacationers had 
been canceled. 
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