US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT2345

UNCLAS KUWAIT 002345 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR THE DEPUTY SECRETARY 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA 
STATE FOR IIP/G/NEA-SA, INR/B 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS 
USDOC FOR ITA AND PTO/OLIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, OIIP, KU 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE'S 
INTERVIEW IN KUWAIT 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: Deputy Secretary Armitage's exclusive interview 
with local Arabic daily Al-Rai Al-A'am (7/18) generated a 
wealth of coverage in the local press. The interview, which 
ranged widely from democracy in Kuwait and stability in Iraq 
to the war on terror, the Arab-Israeli Conflict and the 
Lebanese political situation, appeared across four pages of 
the paper, including the entire front page above the fold. 
The interview was widely noted and discussed in Kuwait, and 
generated even more intense scrutiny in Lebanon, where it 
was picked up by at least three dailies there. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. Armitage's reassurances on several issues of concern to 
the Kuwaiti audience were covered closely and displayed 
prominently in the paper. He praised the Kuwaiti democratic 
model, while noting that the U.S. was not interested in 
imposing democracy on the region, but rather assisting 
homegrown reform movements. He explained that the 
recognition of Kuwait as a Major non-NATO Ally would carry 
practical benefits in areas such as security and defense 
cooperation and training, and would also give notice to U.S. 
companies that Kuwait was a good place for them to do 
business. He also stressed Kuwait's continued strategic 
importance to the U.S., countering rampant local speculation 
that an evolving Iraq would replace Kuwait as the U.S.'s 
most-favored regional partner. 
 
3. With a circulation estimated at about 70,000, Al-Rai Al- 
A'am enjoys a broad readership among Kuwaitis and Arab 
expatriates living in Kuwait, particularly Syrians and 
Lebanese.  Predictably, the interview ranged to issues of 
concern to these readers, such as the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 
Syria's role in the war on terror, and Lebanese politics. 
Deputy Secretary reiterated recent statements by President 
Bush that 2005 was no longer a realistic goal for the 
establishment of a Palestinian state. Commenting on the 
Security Wall, Deputy Secretary Armitage said that it must 
not prejudge final status or unnecessarily inconvenience 
Palestinians. He also said that internal conflicts within 
the Palestinian Authority prevented Israel from having a 
true partner in the peace process. On Syria, the Deputy 
Secretary said that Pres. Assad must do more to combat 
 
SIPDIS 
terror, such as securing the Syria-Iraq border.  Coverage of 
all 
 
4. It was Deputy Secretary Armitage's comments on Lebanon 
that pushed his press outside Kuwait and made his interview 
a two-day story locally. Deputy Secretary Armitage said that 
Lebanon's constitution should only be changed to extend 
Lebanese President Emil Lahoud's term with the full 
deliberation and involvement of the Lebanese people, but 
that currently, their fate was not in their own hands These 
comments were prominently reported, alongside various 
editorial responses, by Lebanese dailies Al-Anwar 
(centrist), Al-Nahar (Christian), and Al-Mustaqbal (pro- 
Syria), as well as by other Gulf dailies. This coverage 
became the subject of a second-day story in Kuwaiti Al-Rai 
Al-A'am, which referred to Secretary Armitage as "Armitage 
the Lebanese," because of what was perceived as his call for 
Lebanese self-determination and full participation in their 
own political process. 
 
TUELLER