Via Frday-Lunch-Club
C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 00548SUBJECT: TFLE01: GOJ BACKS U.S. EFFORTS WHILE SEEKING TODEFUSE RISING PUBLIC ANGER
6. ( C ) In private, the GOJ seeks continued coordination with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S., .... 7. ( C ) Meanwhile, Jordanians across a broad spectrum )from the scotch-sipping elite, to trade unionists, to theIslamists ) complain to us, some emotionally, of U.S.passivity. Faris Breizat of the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies told emboff that the polling numbers heexpects to obtain next week will give Hizballah positives inthe 90 percent range. ....
9. ( C ) Musa Keilani, a columnist with family ties both to the security establishment and to the old guard among the Muslim Brotherhood, lamented that he and others &who used to speak out in support of co-existence8 with Israel must now keep their mouths shut, for fear their friends and families will brand them &traitors.8 The popularity of King Abdullah and his government was bleeding away because of the conflict,./...
C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005567
SUBJECT: TFLE01: JORDAN'S KING DISCUSSES REGIONAL CHALLENGES WITH CODEL HOEKSTRA
2. (C) Codel Hoekstra met for an hour with King Abdullah II on July 24 at Queen Alia International Airport, just before the King's departure for Kuwait. Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra thanked the King for his support of a strong U.S.-Jordan relationship and his contributions toward stabilizing the region. ....... The King did not believe Iran was as strong as it pretended to be. There were chinks in its armor. One idea was to use Iran's own tactic, and support minority elements inside Iran. He was considering a trip to Azerbaijan with this thought in mind. The King described the government of Qatar, fearing for its security, as having embraced Iran. Al-Jazeera television was moving the whole Arab street in favor of Iranian objectives..... 3. (C) The King felt it was necessary to address the Iranian threat with one voice, and focus initially on Syria as the most vulnerable of Iran's assets. ..... The King stressed the importance of focusing on Syria in the campaign to curtail Iranian influence. President Asad, he said, argued that the internal choice was "me or the Muslim Brothers." The King advocated concerted efforts to develop other options, perhaps by cultivating a coalition of Kurds, Druze, Sunni tribes, and the Sunni urban class. ....
5. (C) King Abdullah expressed understanding for Israel's situation and its desire to "take down" Hizballah; ... 6. (C) Representative Harman thanked the King for his contributions to peace and stability, made at personal risk, and for his "magnificent" role in getting Arab moderate leaders to stand up. She said the Codel had been reassured by Prime Minister Olmert that Israel is not at war with the Lebanese government or people. The objective was to degrade Hizballah, and every attack was targeted against Hizballah. Our message to him, she said, was of the need to make that case more persuasively in public. Israeli leaders, she continued, are also focused on a NATO/Arab force with a mission to implement resolution 1559 and establish a monitoring group on the Lebanese-Syrian border. The King said he also was working in that direction, .... he supported creation of a multinational force prepared to take on and fight Hizballah, and would support that idea in Rome. Jordan for months had proposed providing equipment and training for the LAF, and he hoped that initiative would be accelerated...."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 1:20 AM
Uprooted Palestinian
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