US embassy cable - 02AMMAN6764

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006764 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2007 
TAGS: PREL, MCAP, MARR, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN INSPECTORS IN UNMOVIC? 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) This message contains an action request for USUN. 
Please see para 6. 
 
2. (C) On November 17, the MFA's Legal Advisor Samer Naber 
informally provided Poloff information on possible Jordanian 
participation in UNMOVIC (Note: Poloff was meeting with Naber 
on other issues when Naber received a phone call from FonMin 
Muasher on the UNMOVIC issue.  Poloff then queried Naber on 
the subject.  End Note.) 
 
3. (C) Naber said that in 2000, following passage of UNSCR 
1284, the GOJ had conveyed to UNMOVIC Chief Hans Blix a list 
of 22 Jordanian experts that it believed met the basic 
qualifications for participation in UNMOVIC inspection teams. 
 At the time, Naber noted, the GOJ felt that Arab 
participation in UNMOVIC would help provide added credibility 
for UNMOVIC in the region.  Of the 22 names submitted, Blix 
later identified 3 Jordanians (2 with Chemical expertise, and 
one with biological expertise) for additional specialized 
training.  Two of these three individuals did, in fact, 
receive UNMOVIC training.  Blix, according to Naber, told the 
GOJ they were the only Arab government to offer experts to 
UNMOVIC. 
 
4.  (C) Naber characterized the actions in 2000 as a "file 
and forget" exercise that until this past week had lain 
dormant.  Then, on November 10, the Arab League Ministerial 
issued a decision calling on UNMOVIC to include Arab weapons 
inspectors in its teams, and Blix reportedly told the press 
that Arab participation in UNMOVIC already existed 
(apparently referring to the Jordanians).  Since the AL 
decision and Blix's statement, the GOJ has received a number 
of press and other queries on the subject. 
 
5. (C) Naber said the GOJ still supports the idea of 
Jordanian participation in UNMOVIC and believes that it can 
only strengthen the credibility of UNMOVIC's work among Arab 
audiences.  That said, Naber gave no indication that the GOJ 
is pushing the matter, noting that "in the end it will be up 
to Blix to decide who he wants on his teams."  Naber also 
told Poloff that the MFA is unsure whether Blix has actually 
contacted the Jordanian experts recently to request their 
participation in the soon-to-be-deployed inspection teams, or 
whether they simply are part of UNMOVIC's reserve pool. 
(Note: Naber said that the experts in question are not GOJ 
employees or officials.  The MFA, he said, has been trying to 
verify with them and with the UN Secretariat in New York 
their present status vis-a-vis UNMOVIC.) 
 
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Comment/Action Request 
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6. (C) As the information above indicates, there is a bit of 
confusion regarding the current status of the three Jordanian 
experts in UNMOVIC and what, if any, role they may play in 
the weeks ahead.  We agree with the MFA's view that Jordanian 
participation in UNMOVIC could play a useful role in 
demonstrating the Commission's fairness and blunting charges 
from skeptical Arab audiences that it is simply a smokescreen 
for U.S. "aggression."  Post would welcome any clarity on the 
status of the Jordanians that USUN can obtain from UN 
representatives in New York. 
 
GNEHM