US embassy cable - 03AMMAN2159

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2013 
TAGS: AEMR, AMGT, PREL, ASEC, CASC, CVIS, EFIN, ETRD, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: TFIZO1: AMMAN SITREP 32 (4/09 1730 LOCAL) 
 
REF: AMMAN 2137 
 
Classified By: DCM Gregory L. Berry for reasons 1.5 (B)(D). 
 
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General Overview 
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1. (C) At approximately 2245 April 8, an Embassy TDYer was 
shot at and slightly injured by unknown assailants near the 
Le Royal Hotel in Amman.  Immediately following this incident 
the Embassy issued a phone tree message to both American and 
Jordanian staff notifying them of what had occurred and 
encouraging them to alter arrival times and routes to work 
for April 9.  At 0900 on April 9, the Ambassador convoked the 
EAC where the details of what is known of the incident were 
discussed (details reftel).  At 1400, the Embassy issued a 
warden message to the American community concerning the 
incident and at 1500 the Ambassador convoked a town hall 
meeting for all American employees. 
 
2. (C) This local story is receiving some press attention 
despite a tumultuous 24 hours that has included both the 
tragic killing of Jordanian journalist and al-Jazeera 
correspondent Tareq Ayyoub, and the emerging scenes from 
Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq of cheering and looting crowds. 
 A sense of shock, confusion and mixed emotions at all these 
events appears to characterize the prevailing mood of many 
Jordanians at the moment. 
 
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Consular Issues 
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3. (U) No new issues. 
 
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GOJ Actions/Statements 
---------------------- 
 
4. (U) Minister of Information Mohammed al-Adwan issued a 
statement April 8 voicing his "strong condemnation for such 
(military) acts which result in numerous casualties among 
innocent civilians."  Adwan mourned Jordanian correspondent 
Tareq Ayyoub "who fell (as a) martyr while covering the war 
on Iraq for (the) Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel." 
 
 
5. (U) The Jordan Times reported that King Abdullah, in an 
April 8 meeting with Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb and 
representatives of economic segments "affirmed that efforts 
and contacts with the Arab and friendly countries will 
continue in order to stop the war on Iraq and ensure the 
delivery of assistance as soon as possible."  The King went 
on to "stress the importance of cooperation between the 
public and private sectors in the country at this stage to 
overcome the ramifications of war on Jordanian economic 
sectors, particularly tourism, transport and industry."  In 
the same meeting, the paper reported that PM Abul Ragheb 
"stressed the strength of the national economy and his 
confidence in its ability to overcome this stage." 
 
 
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Security 
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6. (U) Details of shooting incident described in para 1 are 
reported reftel. 
 
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Economic and Trade Developments 
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7. (U) Jordanian border officials tell us that normal 
operations resumed at the Sheikh Hussein bridge as of April 
7, ending a multi-day closure caused by work stoppages on the 
part of Israeli customs officers. 
 
8. (C) Irbid Chamber of Industry Chairman Maher al-Nasser 
visited April 8 to voice concern over the exposure faced by 
Jordanian companies trading under the Oil For Food program 
and the bilateral oil and trade protocol with Iraq.  Nasser 
said a number of companies are facing difficulties receiving 
payments for contracts signed with Saddam Hussein's 
government.  Others were unable to deliver contracted goods 
and thus could not present a delivery receipt to claim 
payment from Jordan's Central Bank under the terms of the 
protocol.  Nasser was quoted in the local press as saying 
Irbid companies are facing JD 25 million (USD 35 million) in 
losses as a result of these outstanding contracts.  He added 
to us that many of these companies are already being squeezed 
by local banks to pay for inputs for the contracted goods, 
which were purchased earlier in the year on credit. 
 
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Refugee/Humanitarian Issues 
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9. (U) The Jordan-Iraq border remains open.  27 TCNs crossed 
into Jordan from Iraq overnight (April 8-9), while one person 
with document problems remains in no-man's land at the 
border.  No Iraqi refugees entered Jordan overnight. 
 
10.  (S) Coalition sources confirm that flying checkpoints 
have been established along Hwy 10 (the Baghdad-Amman 
highway) inside Iraqi territory.  All east-bound vehicle 
traffic except previously cleared humanitarian assistance 
convoys are being turned back. 
 
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Press 
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11. (U) CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera and other networks are showing 
scenes of jubilation in Baghdad neighborhoods mid-day April 
9, with reports of most if not all organized resistance from 
Saddam elements either gone or melting away.  It is too early 
to get a sense of how Jordanians will react, but preliminary 
indications are that many are simply relieved that the war 
appears to be nearing its end without the huge civilian 
casualties that many expected.  Earlier in the day, the April 
8 death of a number of journalists -- and in particular 
Jordanian al-Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub -- dominated 
both the local media and talk among ordinary Jordanians. 
Many Jordanians believe that the Arab satellite stations and 
other non-embedded journalists were deliberately targeted by 
U.S. forces.  Once again we find our Arab friends distorting 
facts to correspond to what they want to believe. 
 
GNEHM