VZCZCXRO5554
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #4442/01 3051610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011610Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0795
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, IIP/GNEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: JO KPAO KMDR PREL
SUBJECT: First Lady's Visit to Jordan Gives Boost to 
Jordanian-American Relations 
 
¶1.  Summary: First Lady Laura Bush's October 25-26 visit to Jordan 
generated tremendous goodwill among Jordanian officials and garnered 
extensive, positive coverage in the local and regional media.  Her 
meeting with King Abdullah and her visit to the King Hussein Cancer 
Center to promote the Breast Cancer Awareness Partnership brought 
widespread attention to one of the newest and most promising areas 
of bilateral cooperation. The First Lady's tour of Petra was covered 
by all media, and helped reinforce public perceptions of U.S. 
respect for Jordan's unique heritage.  End summary. 
 
¶2. First Lady Laura Bush's two-day visit to Jordan October 25-26 
gave a strong boost to U.S.-Jordanian relations, and garnered 
favorable media coverage that reminded a sometimes skeptical public 
that America is making many positive contributions to Jordan's 
health and prosperity.  Following lunch with the King, Mrs. Bush 
proceeded to the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) where she met 
with children cancer patients and their parents, donated My Arabic 
Library books to the kids, and toured a telesynergy center where 
Jordanian doctors can consult on patients' cases live with doctors 
in the U.S.  The centerpiece of her tour to the KHCC was her 
symbolic unveiling of a model of a new breast cancer screening 
center to be established through the U.S.-Middle East Breast Cancer 
Awareness Partnership.  The event drew a large number of reporters, 
and highlighted the assistance the USG and private institutions such 
as the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 
have offered to improve the prevention and treatment of cancer in 
Jordan and the region.  The following day the First Lady toured 
Petra, recently named as one of the seven New Wonders of the World, 
including a stop at an ancient church  that was excavated and 
protected with USAID funds.  Media coverage of her tour helped 
spread the message of American respect for Jordan's heritage and 
American support in restoring that heritage. 
 
------------------------ 
Broadcast Media Coverage 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  State-run Jordan Television featured two separate but identical 
reports during its newscasts October 25 on the First Lady's 
activities in Jordan.  The first report focused on her meeting with 
the King, while the second report focused on her visit to the King 
Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) and the unveiling of the model of the 
new breast cancer screening center.  The two reports were carried 
during the 6pm and 8pm Arabic newscasts, as well as the 10pm English 
newscast.  Local television also carried a report on the First 
Lady's visit to Petra on October 26, with prominent images of her in 
front of the famous Treasury building. 
 
¶4.  The news piece on Mrs. Bush's meeting with the King, which led 
off the newscasts, featured footage of the King receiving the First 
Lady, and reported that the King had expressed his admiration for 
the First Lady's role in health issues and his appreciation for U.S. 
support to health and education in Jordan, stressing the importance 
of establishing the new screening center.  The package also said the 
First Lady had expressed her appreciation and admiration of Jordan's 
efforts in the field of health and the standards of health care for 
cancer patients in Jordan. 
 
¶5.  The piece on the First Lady's visit to the KHCC ran later in the 
newscasts, with footage of the First Lady's unveiling of the model 
and speaking with Princess Ghida and Princess Dina.  The footage 
also showed Mrs. Bush's interaction with the children.  The report 
in the Arabic newscasts featured brief excerpts from the First 
Lady's remarks voiced over in Arabic.  Throughout the piece, the 
report provided information related to the new cancer center to be 
established. 
 
¶6.  The First Lady's visit to Petra was highlighted during the 6pm 
Arabic newscast October 26, broadcasting extensive footage from her 
tour, including walking down the long entry gorge called the Siq, 
standing in front of the Treasury, and viewing the Byzantine Church. 
 The report included her remarks on the importance of Petra, 
voiced-over in Arabic. 
 
------------ 
Print Media 
------------ 
 
¶7.  The First Lady's activities in Jordan attracted favorable, 
front-page coverage in all the local newspapers, with banner 
headlines and color photos on October 26, and somewhat less 
prominent coverage of the Petra tour in all dailies October 27. 
 
¶8.  King-First Lady Meeting:  Press articles on her meeting with the 
King focused on the King's statements about the "importance of 
establishing the breast cancer screening center in Jordan" and his 
expression of appreciation for U.S. support for the kingdom's health 
programs.  Print reports also highlighted the First Lady's praise 
for "the advanced level of health and medical services in Jordan, 
especially those offered to cancer patients" and her "eagerness to 
 
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maintain cooperation and coordination with Jordanian medical 
institutions." 
 
¶9.  Sample headlines included: "King receives U.S. President's wife; 
stresses importance of establishing breast cancer early screening 
center in Jordan" (Ad-Dustour Arabic daily, October 26); "King 
expresses his appreciation for American support to health programs 
in Jordan" (Al-Ghad Arabic daily, October 26). 
 
¶10.  First Lady at the KHCC:  Articles on the visit to KHCC featured 
extensive excerpts from her remarks at the unveiling ceremony.  The 
stories also provided details about her tour of the KHCC and her 
interaction with children patients.  Sample headlines included: 
"Laura Bush visits King Hussein Cancer Center; specialized center 
for breast cancer screening by the beginning of next year" (Al-Arab 
Al-Yawm Arabic daily, October 26); "Laura Bush unveils model of 
breast cancer center" (Al-Rai Arabic daily, October 26). 
 
¶11.  First Lady in Petra:  Reports on the First Lady's visit to 
Petra highlighted her tour of the site and the briefings she 
received about the history and significance of Petra.  All the 
stories ran excerpts from her remarks to the media about the 
importance of Petra as a heritage site and praise for archaeological 
cooperation between Jordan and the U.S. 
 
¶12.  Sample headlines included: "Laura Bush visits Petra and 
describes it as the most significant human civilization heritage 
site; praises cooperation between Jordan and America in the area of 
research and archaeological excavation" (Ad-Dustour Arabic daily, 
October 27). 
 
¶13.  Comment: The First Lady's visit to Jordan revealed once again 
the enduring strength of the U.S.-Jordanian relationship, and 
reinforced it.  The Royal Palace and the GoJ pulled out all the 
stops to make her visit a success, and the government worked hard to 
generate media coverage that would be extensive and favorable. 
Aside from demonstrating the American commitment to Jordan's health 
and prosperity, the visit allowed a sometimes critical public to see 
and read a very positive story of U.S. assistance to, and respect 
for, the people of Jordan. End Comment. 
 
HALE