US embassy cable - 02AMMAN6692

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006692 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, JO 
SUBJECT: DESPITE APATHY AND MILD APPREHENSION, JORDANIANS 
UNDERSTAND MAIN MESSAGE OF "JORDAN FIRST" 
 
REF: AMMAN 6522 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
 1.  (C) SUMMARY.  Jordanian reaction to the recently 
launched "Jordan First" initiative (reftel) has been 
characterized primarily by apathy and mild apprehension. 
Some welcome the campaign, while others are skeptical for 
various reasons, including the fear that "Jordan First" could 
exacerbate domestic East-Bank/West-Bank tensions.  In 
general, Jordanians are willing to wait and see what 
direction the "Jordan First" campaign takes. 
Public apathy aside, members of the "Jordan First" committee 
appear to be enthusiastic about their mandate and eager to 
get moving.  PolOff met with two "Jordan First" committee 
members, who said "Jordan First" is a crystallization of what 
the King has always wanted, i.e. a focus on economic 
opportunity, political participation and social issues. 
 
2  (C)  In the bigger picture, "Jordan First" is an attempt 
by the GOJ to re-focus Jordanians away from regional issues 
and towards domestic matters affecting their daily lives. 
Given Jordan's pragmatic regional policies in the past, this 
core message of the "Jordan First" campaign seems to be 
getting through.  More broadly, the initiative represents 
something relatively new in Jordan -- a policy formula that 
honestly asserts the government's moderate policies instead 
of dressing them up in pan-Arab rhetoric or denunciations of 
neologism.  End Summary 
 
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COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  "JORDAN FIRST" IS WHAT THE KING HAS 
ALWAYS WANTED FOR THE PEOPLE 
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3. (C)  In separate meetings on Nov 5 and 6, PolOff met with 
two "Jordan First" committee members, former Member of 
Parliament Mahmoud Kharabsheh and Senator Marwan Doudin. 
Both focused on the need for Jordanians to view "Jordan 
First" as a mentality and not a mere slogan.  "This is a 
higher order and should be a daily practice for all 
Jordanians, regardless of where they come from.  We are going 
to focus on the economy, on social programs, and on political 
participation," Kharabsheh said.  It is, according to Doudin, 
the embodiment of what King Abdullah always wanted.  From the 
first day of his regime, Doudin said, the King has attempted 
to be a leader for all Jordanians.  "He wants to help all 
Jordanians.  'Jordan First' has been his message all along." 
 
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FOCUSING ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND THE ECONOMY 
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4.  (C)  Both Doudin and Kharabsheh mentioned that the King 
cited a recent report indicating that 48 percent of 
Jordanians don't care about elections.  "Jordanians don't 
give a damn about elections.  The King is appalled by this," 
Doudin said.  According to Doudin, one of the reasons for 
such apathy lies in the failure of the Jordanian opposition 
to work truly within the Jordanian political system.  "The 
opposition here has unfortunately developed the fallacy in 
their minds that opposition is a permanent job.  They should 
work within our system in an effort to become the majority," 
Doudin said.  Despite the King's call for a consolidation of 
political parties, the opposition should not be discouraged 
or worried.  "The King said to the committee in our first 
meeting that it will look ridiculous to the world if we claim 
to be a democracy without opposition." 
 
5.  (C)  Kharabsheh said that "Jordan First" will also focus 
on "employment based on merit," indicating that the campaign 
may face up to the entrenched patronage system here.  Doudin, 
a Palestinian-Jordanian, said the committee has some ideas on 
how to approach the issue.  "I understand there is a lack of 
opportunity for many, especially young people, and like 
everyone around the world, we have issues with transparency." 
 
 
6. (C)  On "Jordan First" and the press, Doudin made an 
ominous comment about the need for the media to report within 
the framework of the initiative.  He said the Jordan First 
Committee would establish a media subcommittee to "determine 
the limits and red lines that the media can abide by.  We 
cannot just run loose." 
 
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WE STILL ARE COMMITTED TO REGIONAL STRUGGLES 
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7. (C)  Kharabsheh, an East-Banker and former Member of 
Parliament, said that Jordan remains committed to the 
Palestinian cause and support for the Iraqi people.  "Jordan 
has always existed in a difficult area.  In light of this big 
(regional) challenge to Jordan, we must enhance our domestic 
situation in all areas."  Doudin agreed, and took a swipe at 
the anti-normalization opposition here. "Our peace treaty 
with Israel is an example of putting Jordan first.  Some 
oppose it, but imagine the past two years without that 
treaty.  Where would we be?  We're doing it quietly, but 
we're working very hard to solve the Palestinian problem." 
 
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SOME PALESTINIANS SEE SLOGAN AS PRO-EAST BANK 
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8. (C) On October 20, PolOff met with the outspoken former PM 
Taher Masri at his villa in Abdoun.  Masri, a 
Palestinian-Jordanian, agreed that there are too many 
political parties for Jordan's own good.  This however, 
cannot be solved by government intervention or slogans.  "We 
need elections," he said, noting that opening avenues of 
political participation would in the long run discredit the 
opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood.  Masri said the 
"Jordan First" strategy is being met with cynicism among 
Palestinian-Jordanians, who believe the Jordan first strategy 
is pointed at preserving East-Banker interests.  "They see it 
as 'the Jordanian first', not 'Jordan First'.  It is 
frightening to them." 
 
9.  (C)  On October 20, PolOff met with former political 
adviser to the King, Adnan Abu Odeh, also a 
Palestinian-Jordanian.  Abu Odeh strongly believes that the 
King is trying to bring the country together with the "Jordan 
First" initiative, but that it is "bad timing."  Abu Odeh 
commented that "Jordan First", as an ideal, is going to have 
a tough time in a culture that has a historical propensity to 
view issues in a "Pan-Arab" context.  Against that backdrop, 
the current regional situation only makes "Jordan First" a 
tougher sell. "If you introduce something like this now, 
people are going to be suspicious."  Odeh worries that many 
East-Bankers will see the "Jordan First" initiative "as a 
validation of what they have always wanted to believe:  That 
they are more important to the King than the West-Bankers 
are." 
 
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COMMENT 
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10.  (C)  With "Jordan First," the King is seeking to lead 
public opinion to accept a long-standing, but seldom 
articulated notion:  that Jordan must place its national 
interests above the emotion-laden (and usually pan-Arab) 
agenda of the street and Arabic media.  Jordanians recognize 
that King Hussein and his grandfather, King Abdullah I, 
pursued pragmatic policies in dealing with the early Zionists 
and, later, Israel, in confronting a Palestinian challenge to 
Hashemite rule in 1970, and in trying (unsuccessfully) to 
walk a fine line between the U.S. and Iraq in 1990.  These 
policies --  the historical precursors to "Jordan First" -- 
were generally masked by high rhetoric designed to blunt 
opposition. 
 
11.  (C)  Although it focuses on a domestic agenda, the new 
"Jordan First" media campaign is a clear attempt by the King 
to prepare Jordanian public opinion for the possibility of 
simultaneous conflicts on Jordan's east and west flanks.  An 
underlying message in the King's August 15 speech to the 
nation (ref b) and his October 9 MBC interview (ref c) was 
that Jordan must chart its own course and take responsibility 
for its own stability and well-being.  And -- despite cynical 
comments by some about the "Jordan First" media campaign 
itself -- the overall message resonates with many sectors of 
the Jordanian population:  certainly with the military, 
government, and East Bank nationalists, but also with the 
West Bank economic elite and those West Bankers who 
appreciate the benefits of citizenship, stability and 
(relative) prosperity Jordan offers them.  The King's 
addresses seem to have re-focused many Jordanians on the need 
for the government to protect Jordan's stability and 
prosperity in potential hard times to come. 
GNEHM