US embassy cable - 03AMMAN2030

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002030 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2013 
TAGS: AEMR, AMGT, PREL, ASEC, CASC, CVIS, EFIN, ETRD, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: TFIZO1: AMMAN SITREP 26 (4/03 2000 LOCAL) 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Douglas Silliman for reasons 1.5 (B)(D). 
 
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General Overview 
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1. (SBU) The Embassy will be closed on April 4 and 5, for the 
Jordanian weekend.  It will open for regular business on 
Sunday, April 7.  The movement of American staff remains 
restricted. 
 
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Consular Issues 
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2. (U)  No new issues. 
 
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GOJ Actions/Statements 
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3. (C) No new issues except as reported under Press heading. 
 
 
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Security 
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4. (U)  No new issues. 
 
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Economic and Trade Developments 
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5. (sbu)  The Sheikh Hussein Bridge in northern Jordan is 
open, but Jordanian exporters report that drastic work 
slowdowns by Israeli customs officials have significantly 
reduced traffic across the bridge.  According to Jordanian 
bridge authorities, a total of 19 trucks crossed Sheikh 
Hussein April 2 in both directions, versus a normal volume of 
approximately 120 per day.  Jordan hopes to clear 45 both 
ways on April 3, but notes their success will depend largely 
on srike activity by Israeli customs.    We are coordinating 
with Embassy Tel Aviv to get a better idea of how long this 
situation, an unwelcome blow to QIZ confidence even if 
unrelated to the Iraq conflict, will persist. 
 
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Refugee/Humanitarian Issues 
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6. (C) The Jordan-Iraq border remains open.  IOM reports that 
6 additional TCNs arrived late on April 2 and another 15 
arrived today, April 3.  Today's arrivals included a group of 
11 Egyptians who will be repatriated this evening.  Four 
Palestinians (with Iraqi travel documents) also were admitted 
to the transit camp at Ruweished but another 8 Palestinians 
currently are being held in no man's land at the border. 
Still no sign of Iraqi refugees or aslyum seekers. 
 
7.  (C)  UNHCR reports that a "handful" of Iraqi citizens -- 
primarily businessmen -- cross into Jordan every day.  These 
Iraqis have not requested asylum or UNHCR assistance. 
 
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Press 
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8. (U) Following the Ambassador's meeting with the Prime 
Minister today (which the local press characterized as a 
"summons"), Ambassador Gnehm delivered remarks to the 
Jordanian press regarding the meeting.  He said that the PM 
had conveyed to him the strong views of the GOJ regarding the 
effect of the continued fighting on the civilian population 
of Iraq, and that he pledged to the PM that he would convey 
those views to Washington.  He added that the U.S. Government 
was similarly concerned about the fate of the civilians in 
Iraq and that the coalition was doing everything possible to 
minimize the effect of the fighting on civilians.    In 
response to a question about the possibility of a diplomatic 
solution to the conflict, the Ambassador said that a number 
of solutions had been sought to this question over the past 
12 years, and that given the failure of all previous efforts, 
the coaltion was forced to resort to military force. Action 
was ongoing and the U.S. will pursue our objectives to disarm 
the regime and remove the brutal dictatorship of Saddam 
Hussein and his henchmen.  The Ambassador noted that 
U.S.-Jordan relations remain strong on a variety of levels, 
despite occasional disagreements on specific issues, and that 
the U.S. and Jordanian governments shared a common goal that 
the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people must be met. 
 
GNEHM