US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5057

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005057 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/FO, NEA/ARN, NEA/NGA 
USDOC FOR 3131/USFCS/OIO/ANESA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2013 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, SY, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: (C) IRAQ:  GOK WANTS TO REBUILD PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE 
TIES, ENCOURAGE PRIVATE SECTOR 
 
REF: DAMASCUS 6461 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: AMB. RICHARD H. JONES; REASON 1.5 (B,D) 
 
1.  (C) INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY:  Foreign Minister Sh. Dr. 
Mohammed al-Sabah told the Ambassador Kuwait wants to 
coordinate with Iraqis on its remaining half-billion dollar 
pledge, to ensure the money helps rebuild ties between the 
two peoples.  He said the GOK is encouraging involvement by 
the private sector, which is eager and full of ideas.  The 
Ambassador promised to use his upcoming TDY in Iraq to 
strengthen private sector contacts. Dr. Mohammed was very 
pleased with the outcome of the Damascus meeting of the 
'regional group,' despite the Iraqi FM's decision to stay 
away.  He assessed President Asad as sincere in wanting to 
support the IGC, whereas FM Shara had seemed "not displeased 
to see instability continue in Iraq."  Kuwait is due to host 
the next meeting of the 'regional group' in about three 
months' time.  Other topic septel.  END INTRODUCTION AND 
SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) The Ambassador called on Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah November 3, accompanied by 
Pol Chief (Notetaker).  MFA Americas Dept. Director Amb. 
Khaled al-Babtain and his Deputy Ayham al-Omar sat in, along 
with Raed al-Rifa'i of the Minister's staff. 
 
(C) IRAQ 
-------- 
3.  (C) The Minister had just returned from the meeting in 
Damascus of the 'regional group' (Iraq's neighbors and 
Egypt).  This was his first meeting with the Ambassador since 
before his trip to Poland, Bulgaria and Spain, where he 
represented Kuwait at the Madrid donors' conference on Iraq. 
Dr. Mohammed said Kuwait's pledge in Madrid ($1.5 billion) 
referred to the same amount that Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah 
al-Ahmed had told President Bush the GOK had allocated to the 
liberation of Iraq.  Approximately $1 billion had already 
been spent, he explained.  Regarding the remaining 
half-billion dollars, the GOK wanted to coordinate with the 
Iraqis in order to ensure that these funds helped rebuild the 
relationship between the two peoples.  He stressed that as a 
result of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and the Saddam 
regime's oppression of its own people, "the nature of our 
involvement in Iraq is unique...The Iraqis are very 
supportive.  We want to develop projects that link the 
economies and open Iraq to the GCC market," such as a 
railroad from Basra that would connect to other Arabian rail 
lines and ports all down the Gulf.  "We cannot just do 
housing projects in Baghdad." 
 
4.  (C) The Ambassador noted approvingly that this strategy 
would create jobs far beyond those directly related to the 
construction projects themselves.  He praised Dr. Mohammed's 
"dramatic gesture" in providing a special flight so that 
Kuwaiti private-sector representatives could get to Madrid in 
time for the parallel meeting October 23.  Referring to his 
own upcoming TDY in Iraq, he promised to try to energize the 
Iraqi private sector and encourage ties between it and the 
Gulf states' private sectors.  Recalling Deputy Secretary of 
Commerce Bodman's recent visit, he noted that USDOC would be 
doing more with the American and local private sectors 
throughout the region in support of reconstruction in Iraq. 
He promised to make sure CPA representatives participated in 
the Iraq trade show ("Rebuild Iraq 2004") to be held in 
Kuwait January 19-23. 
 
5.  (C) The Minister remarked that the Committee for Iraqi 
Reconstruction (of which he is a member), chaired by the 
Finance Minister, would meet November 8, bringing together 
leading private, public, and governmental figures.  He said 
"there is no shortage of ideas; people are excited."  They 
have two chief concerns about involvement in Iraq:  lack of 
legal structure, and security.  To help overcome the former, 
the GOK would offer political risk insurance for Kuwaitis 
investing in Iraq. 
 
6.  (C) Dr. Mohammed expressed condolences for the heavy loss 
of life in the November 2 shoot-down of a Chinook helicopter, 
and asked about a rumor he had heard that it was brought down 
by a U.S. Stinger shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile. 
The Ambassador replied that he had no reason to believe it 
was a Stinger; Iraq was awash in SA-7's; hundreds had been 
found there.  The Ambassador noted that in general, the 
security problems are concentrated in the area west and north 
of Baghdad, i.e. the heartland of the Sunni Arabs who have 
lost the most with the fall of Saddam.  They need to feel 
they have a stake in the successful emergence of the new 
Iraq.  Security and development will be mutually reinforcing, 
just as the absence of one hurts the other.  The coalition is 
accelerating the recruitment and training of Iraqis for the 
various security forces, and increasing intelligence 
collection.  These efforts are paying off:  informants are 
coming forward daily, even in the most troubled areas. 
 
(C) SYRIA AND IRAQ 
------------------ 
 
7.  (C) The Ambassador thanked Dr. Mohammed for his personal 
efforts to get Iraqi FM Zebari invited to the November 1-2 
Damascus meeting of the 'regional group' (Iraq's neighbors 
plus Egypt -- see reftel).  He noted that he had personally 
spoken with CPA Administrator Bremer, and that CPA officials 
had spoken with Zebari.  In the end, the Ambassador said, 
Zebari felt the Syrians were treating him badly and decided 
not to honor Syria with his presence; nonetheless, the Iraqi 
appreciated the efforts of Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and 
Jordan.  Dr. Mohammed said this was his impression also.  He 
was very pleased with the final communique, which he thought 
could not have been much stronger if Iraq had been present: 
it expressed strong support for the GC, condemned the 
terrorist attacks in Iraq and invited the Iraqis to work with 
neighboring states to address the security issue.  Kuwait 
would host the next meeting in about three months' time and 
invite Iraq from the start. 
 
8.  (C) ASAD VS. SHARA:  President Asad had come across as 
"moderate," stating that Syria has no interest in prolonging 
instability in Iraq, because such instability has a negative 
effect on Iraq's neighbors.  Asad had claimed that arms were 
being smuggled into Syria from Iraq, not vice versa.  The 
border needed to be secured, and the President supported 
Iraqis working with neighboring states -- if only because the 
Americans sometimes misidentified Syrian positions near the 
border and attacked them.  He had asked his guests to help 
convince the US of his sincerity.  According to Dr. Mohammed, 
Syrian FM Farouq al-Shara had taken the "diametrically 
opposite" position, coming across as "not displeased to see 
instability continue in Iraq," and portraying the IGC as 
lackeys who should be disposed of as quickly as possible. 
Dr. Mohammed added that the hotel where he had stayed had 
been full of Saddam regime sympathizers who loudly criticized 
Kuwait and demanded to present "an Iraqi view" in the 
meeting, "but we said 'no way!'" 
 
9.  (C) The Minister asked about Syrian and Iranian 
involvement in smuggling.  The Ambassador had seen a report 
of a Yemeni recently caught with a Syrian passport, but did 
not know whether the passport was forged or genuine.  He said 
the big concern was jihadists from all over the region 
infiltrating Iraq via Syria.  A certain number of Ansar 
al-Islam elements had fled from Iraq to Iran and then 
returned, but this was quantitatively different from a steady 
flow of militants.  He reminded Dr. Mohammed that Palestinian 
terrorist groups are known to have offices in Damascus, which 
could be facilitating travel of Palestinian terrorists. 
There were also some reports of Lebanese Hizballah 
involvement in Iraq. 
 
10.  (C) COMMENT:  The GOK remains fully committed to 
supporting the emergence of the new Iraq.  We agree that 
private-sector engagement is crucial to energizing the Iraqi 
economy and tying it into the regional economy; we will 
continue to encourage the rebuilding of strong ties between 
these once-close neighbors, at both the official and private 
levels.  Septel will detail the Ambassador's meeting later 
the same day with one of the private-sector representatives 
who went to Madrid. 
 
11.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
JONES