US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT5080

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 005080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA, 
IIP/G/NEA-SA, INR/B 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
CINCCENT FOR CCPA 
USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS 
USDOC FOR ITA AND PTO/OLIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KU, KDMR 
SUBJECT:  KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION, NOVEMBER 1-3: WAR ON 
TERROR; MADRID DONORS CONFERENCE; INFILTRATION OF FOREIGN 
FIGHTERS; PD EFFORTS IN SUPPORT OF US POSITION 
 
1. SUMMARY: A prominent liberal commentator states that the 
government refuses to admit that "Al-Qaeda exists in 
Kuwait" so as to not irritate Kuwait's Islamist groups in 
parliament. Another states that the only way for liberals 
to confront "extremist religious interpretations" is with a 
"modernist religious ideology" that embraces democracy and 
human rights. 
 
A liberal writer opines that despite the "American failure 
to understand other cultures," the US has taken "great 
steps to build cultural bridges with the Arab world" after 
Operation Iraqi Freedom. 
 
The debate on Kuwait's contributions to Iraqi 
reconstruction continues on the editorial pages, with one 
commentator saying the money would be better spent in 
"building up Kuwait's new areas." END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  News Stories: Liberal MP Mohammad Al-Saqer will lead a 
Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation to an emergency session of 
the Arab Parliamentary Union Council in Syria on November 2 
to discuss "the Israeli aggression on Syria and the 'Syria 
Accountability' Act," Al-Qabas reports. 
 
Al-Qabas reports that Iraqi Kurdish leader of the Patriotic 
Union of Kurdistan Jallal Talebani met with Kuwaiti Prime 
Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad during an official visit 
this week in which he affirmed the strength of Kuwaiti- 
Iraqi relations. 
 
Chairman of the Board of the Social Reform Society Abdulla 
Al-Mutawa stated: "I challenge any one to prove that a 
single Kuwaiti Dinar from a Kuwaiti charity has been sent 
to terrorists," according to Al-Qabas. 
 
All newspapers report that the Kuwaiti Gulf Center for 
Strategic Studies issued a study about Kuwait's democracy, 
concluding that it is "transparent and fair" despite 
widespread allegations of vote-buying during the July 2003 
parliamentary elections. 
 
Al-Qabas reports that National Assembly Speaker Jassim Al- 
Kharafi stated that discussion of the challenges facing the 
Kuwaiti educational system is on the agenda for the next 
session of the parliament. 
 
Al-Qabas reports that Ministry of Education plans to 
introduce computers and Internet to the curricula are 
limited by the fact that over 90% of the ministry's budget 
is dedicated to salaries. 
 
Al-Watan and Al-Qabas report on November 1 that Kuwaiti 
security authorities disrupted an attempt to smuggle over 
1800 bottles of whiskey from Iraq into Kuwait. 
 
Editorials: 
 
3. "Political Distortion and the Security of Kuwait" 
Secretary General of the National Democratic Movement Dr. 
 
SIPDIS 
Ahmad Bishara wrote in independent Al-Qabas (11/01):  "Our 
MPs have made a mistake in opposing contributions to Iraq 
[for reconstruction]. Kuwait has bet on its future, the 
future of Iraq and the region. We should not allow the 
rabble-rousers in the Parliament to harm Kuwait and its 
efforts to build new relations with the people of Iraq." 
 
4.  "Precedence Should Be Given to Building Kuwait" 
Faisal Al-Barjes wrote in independent Al-Qabas (11/01): 
"Isn't it a priority for us to use a fraction of [the USD 
1.5 billion pledged by Kuwait for the reconstruction of 
Iraq] for rebuilding the infrastructure of the new areas in 
Kuwait? Shouldn't we use this amount to rebuild our 
hospitals or to find new jobs for our Kuwaiti graduates? We 
must tell the powers abroad that have been applying 
pressure that Kuwait and its people have a priority to 
spend their wealth." 
 
5.  "Kuwait Mujahedeen in Iraq" 
Director of Kuwait University's Center for Future and 
Strategic Studies, Dr. Shamlan Al-Essa wrote in independent 
Al-Seyassah (11/01): "Despite the fact that we in Kuwait 
have witnessed terrorist attacks on American soldiers, 
politicians here still deny the existence of Al-Qaeda [in 
Kuwait] in order to satisfy the political Islamic groups in 
Kuwait. The most serious consequences of Kuwaitis joining 
the Islamic Jihad cells in Iraq is that we will end up with 
Iraqi-Kuwaiti Mujahedeen, expert in planting bombs on roads 
and blowing up oil pipelines, here in Kuwait after they 
accomplish their mission in Iraq. 
 
6.  "America's War on Terrorism Begins At the Gates of 
Freedom" 
Liberal Dean of the College of Social Sciences at Kuwait 
University, Dr. Ali Al-Tarrah wrote in independent Al- 
Seyassah (11/02): "Despite the humanitarian work offered by 
the US to the rest of the world, it remains the most 
vulnerable country to terrorist attacks and the most hated 
by Muslims. This is because America fails to understand the 
nature of other cultures. After the war on Iraq, the US 
began to review its policies and presented solutions for 
its disordered cultural relations with the Islamic world. 
The US has taken great steps at the appropriate time to 
build cultural bridges with the Arab and Islamic world 
America must work to bring the region out of this dark 
tunnel and should not pay any attention to the voices which 
claim that this region is not qualified for democracy." 
 
7."The Kuwaiti Liberal Ideology and the Necessity to 
Reform Religion" 
Fakher Al-Sultan wrote in independent Al-Watan (11/01): 
"If liberals in Kuwait adopt enlightened Islam-- Islam 
based on visions that do not contradict democracy, respect 
for human rights, and intellectual and religious diversity- 
- this will pave the way to confronting the extreme 
religious interpretation of the political Islam groups who 
dominate political and religious life in Kuwait. The 
position in the society held by fundamentalist ideology 
cannot be shaken unless it is confronted with another 
religious ideology... a modernist religious ideology that 
embraces liberalism, democracy, and respect for human 
rights as concepts that do not clash with religion, but are 
in accordance with it." 
 
8.  "Execution is the Solution" 
Faisal Al-Qanai wrote in independent Al-Seyassah (11/02): 
"Bombings in Iraq are terrorist attacks that only create 
suffering for the Iraqi people. Arab people and countries 
must support the Iraqi people and reject such acts because 
stability and democracy are the only ways to achieve a 
prosperous Iraq. The first step that must be taken to 
control the situation in Iraq is to implement the death 
penalty for criminals and violators of national security." 
 
9.  "Beware of Judaization in Iraq" 
Dr. Ayed Al-Manna wrote in independent Al-Watan (11/02): 
"There is no doubt that there are Jews who entered Iraq to 
buy some properties there  The issue of Judaization of 
large geographic areas and the control of economic and 
financial institutions in Iraq is a serious matter. 
Allowing the Jews, especially Israeli Jews, to exploit the 
needy Iraqis by buying their property is a violation of 
Iraq's sovereignty. We hope that Paul Bremmer will ban the 
entry of Israeli Jews to Iraq because this would be as 
harmful to the Americans as to the Iraqis." 
 
JONES