US embassy cable - 03AMMAN859

UNCLAS AMMAN 000859 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PREL, IZ, JO, PHUM. SOCI 
SUBJECT: ONE IRAQI HOPES FOR WAR WHILE JORDANIANS PROTEST 
AGAINST IT 
 
REF:  AMMAN 745 
 
The following cable, which describes a recent encounter with 
an Iraqi resident in Jordan, was drafted by an Embassy Amman 
FSN. 
 
1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  During the weekend of January 31, which 
saw a large Jordanian anti-war protest (ref), political FSN 
spoke at length with a middle aged Iraqi woman, who fumed 
about the hypocrisy of her Arab brethren and hoped that war 
would soon sweep away Saddam and the misery besetting her 
people.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (SBU)  The Jordanian street's view of potential military 
action in Iraq is unquestionably negative.  Many see it, 
along with the war on terrorism, as part of a broader 
campaign against Islam and the Muslim world.  Many even 
accord Saddam Hussein "esteem" as the only Arab who stands 
against "Western Hegemony".  Jordanians overwhelmingly 
believe that war will be bad for the Iraqi (and Jordanian) 
people, and want their Iraqi brethren to know they are "on 
their side". 
 
--------------------------- 
IRAQI IRONY:  THE FLIP SIDE 
--------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  On January 29, PolFSN spoke to a middle-aged 
Iraqi woman resident in Jordan, who recently returned from a 
17-day visit to Baghdad.  "The Iraqi people are waiting for 
this war because they are sick of their lives, sick of 
Saddam, and the injustice and fear they live with," she 
said.  "He (Saddam) has brought us nothing but pain and we 
want a change -- even if Sharon comes to rule us it would be 
better than Saddam." 
 
4.  (SBU)  "Iraqis are angry at the rest of the Arab world 
for protesting the presumed war" and are especially 
indignant toward the Palestinians.  They resent the fact 
that Saddam gives so much money away to Palestinian martyr 
families while leaving his own people starving.  "The young 
have gray hair from the injustice and fear they live in, no 
one can talk because every one man has two intelligence 
(men) walking behind him." 
 
5.  (SBU)  On day-to-day life in Baghdad, she said people 
live very simply, with money for only the bare necessities. 
The streets are empty, and people sit indoors to listen to 
their radios, since everything on TV "is about Saddam." 
Most are convinced war is imminent.  The Iraqi woman said 
that the stores are relatively well stocked, but most Iraqis 
can't afford to buy. 
 
6.  (SBU)  She then described an assortment of 
unpleasantness about Iraqi life, e.g. how her niece was 
offered a scholarship and how Saddam's people "stole it" and 
gave it to their own people, and how this kind of thing 
happens all the time.  She talked about Saddam's tanks being 
situated strategically in front of mosques.  She talked 
about how lavish Saddam's palaces are, and how the rest of 
the population struggles to put food on the table.  "Doesn't 
the Arab world understand that we are sick of Saddam?  Even 
if war is bad, people cannot go on as is... something has to 
change." 
 
7.  (SBU) COMMENT.  Our FSN's contact is a former 
schoolteacher in Baghdad and is now working as an in-home 
manicurist in Amman to make ends meet.  We do not know what 
percentage of Iraqis share her views, but her opinions were 
strong enough to make an impression and merit reporting. 
The sentiment she expressed was that while no one wants war, 
many Iraqis see this potential war as their only way out of 
an intolerable situation. 
GNEHM