C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 00548 SUBJECT: TFLE01: GOJ BACKS U.S. EFFORTS WHILE SEEKING TO DEFUSE 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 he expects to obtain next week will give Hizballah positives in the 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 . ....