US embassy cable - 03AMMAN3838

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003838 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, ECON, OVIP, JO 
SUBJECT: PA AMMAN'S WEF COVERAGE 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The June 21-23 Extraordinary Meeting of the 
World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea provided the USG an 
unprecedented opportunity to highlight for much of the 
world's media  -- and, in particular, the usually 
ultra-critical Arab satellite TV channels -- positive 
messages and new foreign policy intiatives toward the nations 
of the Middle East.  The main achievement was getting out our 
MEFTA and MEPI messages as well as U.S. dedication to the 
Road Map through the Arab satellites and regional as well as 
local print media.  This was in vivid contrast to the 
skeptical or outright accusatory prism through which Arab 
media often portray U.S. policies towards the region.  U.S. 
delegates to the Forum put on a media blitz, ensuring the 
fullest possible coverage of U.S. initiatives, and marking a 
major step forward in laying out both the broad vision as 
well as the details of the Administration's Middle East 
policy.  PA Amman thanks all delegation members and their 
staffs for their willingness to cooperate in these 
activities, appearing willingly under the lights for multiple 
television, radio, print and electronic media sessions 
throughout the conference.  PA Amman also thanks NEA/PD and 
IIP for their excellent support by providing critical TDY 
personnel, without which our efforts could not have been 
carried out.  End summary. 
 
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Deeds and Words 
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2.  The WEF Dead Sea meeting was a major media event.  With 
over 400 journalists accredited to cover the conference, it 
offered the USG an unprecedented platform from which to 
highlight a number of positive U.S. initiatives towards the 
Middle East.  Building a strong and coherent message of hope 
and opportunity around the President's proposal of a U.S. - 
Middle East Free Trade Area and his personal commitment to 
implementation of the Roadmap, U.S. proposals dominated 
discussion at the Forum, and the media reporting that 
followed.  The strongest message of all, however, was sent by 
the sheer size and seniority of the U.S. delegation.  The 
image of Secretary Powell, USTR Zoellick, Ambassador Bremer, 
USAID Administrator Natsios, U/S Larson, A/S Burns, DAS 
Cheney, senior House and Senate delegations and many other 
senior USG officials participating in sessions and appearing 
before the media conveyed a message of confidence in a new, 
integrated U.S. approach to this troubled region which 
addresses not only its conflicts but the desire for 
prosperity, freedom and hope.  The decision to embrace this 
Forum and to use it as an opportunity to convey this 
integrated U.S. approach made for a powerful message. 
 
3.  Over a week prior to the conference, NEA/PD forwarded to 
PA Amman a memo laying out a pre-conference press plan of 
speeches, DVC's and on-the-record briefings that would set 
the stage for the U.S. messages to be delivered at the 
conference.  These included U/S Larson's appearance at the 
Foreign Press Center and the IIP-drafted op-ed for 
Ambassadors that Amman placed locally on June 21.  These 
efforts provided post a basis upon which to prepare a media 
strategy for the period covering the Forum.  Without 
confirmation of availability or willingness of Department 
principals to engage media at the conference, PA Amman 
developed a press plan that sought to generate wide exposure 
and understanding of USG initiatives at the WEF.  These 
included the MEFTA, but also MEPI, USAID activities in the 
region, and Iraq rebuilding efforts.  Our proposals were 
forwarded to the Secretary's party en route to the conference 
and we received encouragement to engage as many USG delegates 
as possible in support of our media strategy. 
 
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So Many Messages, So Many Messengers 
------------------------------------ 
 
4.  When we began contacting principals with ideas for media 
appearances, we found near-universal willingness to engage. 
With so many media outlets represented at the Forum, in 
particular among the Arab media, our challenge became not 
convincing USG officials to appear before media, but how to 
choose the appropriate outlets to maximize the impact of 
their time.  And as the conference got underway and USG 
proposals came to dominate the agenda, more and more media 
requests came in.  While we do not have a clear baseline from 
which to measure, we believe that more USG officials engaged 
more Arab media in this 3-day period than may have ever been 
done before.  In addition to plenary addresses and press 
conferences by US delegates to the Forum -- each of which was 
covered extensively by regional and international media, PA 
Amman organized the following media appearances: 
 
-- Secretary Powell one-on-one interviews with Al Jazeera, 
Arabiya and Jordan Television Satellite networks; 
 
-- USTR Zoellick one-on-one interviews with Al Jazeera,Abu 
Dhabi TV, CNBC and Bloomberg News; Radio Interview with Radio 
Sawa; Roundtable with Arab and International Print Media; 
 
-- Ambassador Bremer briefed the US traveling press corps and 
offered exclusive comments to his traveling Iraqi press corps 
following a bilateral meeting with UNSYG Annan; 
 
-- USAID Administrator Natsios briefed Arab Print Media; 
 
-- U/S Larson gave an open press availability to all media 
reps on the first night of the Forum to preview USG 
initiatives and objectives; he then did Abu Dhabi TV and BBC 
Radio; 
 
-- A/S Burns appeared on Al Jazeera and sat for two 
one-on-one interviews with Arab print media outlets. 
 
-- DAS Cheney briefed 12 Arab print journalists on MEPI and 
US economic policy in the region. 
 
-- Ambassador Gnehm appeared on Jordan TV before the 
conference and on Jordan Radio from the Dead Sea during it. 
We also placed the IIP-drafted op-ed under his name in local 
Arabic dailies on the first day of the Forum and provided a 
separate op-ed under his name to a special-edition business 
magazine produced locally for the conference. 
 
5.  We will be sending a separate cable detailing coverage in 
the Jordanian press resulting from the above efforts. 
 
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TDY Support Critical 
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6. Post would like to thank NEA/PD and IIP for their advance 
planning in support of the conference, as well as for 
providing critical TDY support, without which we could not 
have provided the coverage needed to take advantage of this 
unique opportunity.  In particular, Jessica Davies did an 
excellent job in coordinating media appearances for US 
delegation members.  We also worked closely with the two IIP 
Wireless File writer/editors sent to cover the event, Berta 
Gomez and Philip Kurata, and commend their hard work in 
covering so many different aspects of the Forum. 
GNEHM