US embassy cable - 03AMMAN737

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000737 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2013 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MASS, JO, IZ 
SUBJECT: GOJ SPOKESMAN PUBLICLY DENIES PRESS REPORTS ON 
MILITARY PREPARATIONS FOR WAR WITH IRAQ 
 
REF: FBIS GMP20030202000049 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (U) A GOJ spokesman January 30 strenuously and publicly 
denied recent press reports asserting that Jordan had agreed 
to allow U.S. troops to be stationed in the Kingdom and to 
allow overflights of U.S. military aircraft in the event of 
war with Iraq.  Minister of Information and government 
spokesman Mohammed Adwan told the official Petra News Agency 
that such reports (alluding to but not specifying a January 
30 article in the Washington Post) were "totally untrue and 
baseless.  Jordan's stand on this matter is firm and clear: 
Jordan has repeatedly stressed it will not participate in any 
war in any way, and it will not allow any party -- neither 
the U.S. nor Iraq -- to use its soil and airspace."  In the 
same interview Adwan also rebutted a separate Al-Jazeera TV 
news report that claimed that Iraq had ceased oil deliveries 
to the Kingdom. 
 
2. (U) Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb echoed Adwan's 
statements a day later on January 31 when, in the local 
Arabic language daily Ad-Dustour, he denied that Jordan had 
agreed to provide the U.S. with any facilities to assist in a 
war with Iraq.  Additionally, on February 2, an unnamed 
"high-level Jordanian official" described a February 1 Daily 
Telegraph story asserting that British SAS and U.S. Delta 
Force troops had launched a mission from Jordan as "sheer 
baseless press speculation" in an interview with London's 
al-Hayah (ref).   Interestingly, these denials also come 
amidst articles in the local press reporting the delivery of 
the first six planes of a new squadron of F-16 aircraft from 
the U.S. and the GOJ's request for deployment of U.S. Patriot 
missile batteries to protect populated areas of the kingdom. 
 
3. (U) The English language Jordan Times in a January 31 
editorial summed up and sought to synthesize this 
information: "Expectations should be realistic.  Jordan can 
warn -- and His Majesty King Abdullah indeed has repeatedly 
warned -- against the disastrous consequences of a new 
military attack . . . But Jordan cannot stop the war.  The 
government's duty is first and foremost toward the safety and 
security of the country and its citizens.  A weak Jordan 
would be no good either to the Palestinians or Iraqis, or any 
other Arab people . . . These are times for maturity and good 
judgment, not for emotional reactions.  As common wisdom 
goes, Jordan must hope for the best and prepare for the 
worst." 
 
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Comment 
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4. (C) The GOJ continues to press forward with a public 
relations strategy that seeks to reconcile the perceived gap 
between the Jordanian public's strong emotional opposition to 
a possible war with Iraq and the GOJ's own preparations 
should military action commence.  Stressing the longstanding 
nature of the U.S.-Jordanian relationship, and particularly 
the defensive aspects of such things as deployment of 
Patriots and delivery of F-16s, is the best -- and possibly 
only -- way to square this circle. 
GNEHM