US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT2366

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SECRETARY POWELL 
STATE ALSO FOR NEA/FO, NEA/I, NEA/ARP, T, PM, S/CT, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, PTER, PGOV, KJUS, KISL, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SECRETARY POWELL'S VISIT 
 
REF: A. SECTO 00041 (NOTAL) 
     B. SECTO 00042 (NOTAL) 
     C. KUWAIT 1380 (NOTAL) 
     D. KUWAIT 2018 (NOTAL) 
     E. KUWAIT 2274 (NOTAL) 
     F. KUWAIT 2335 (NOTAL) 
     G. KUWAIT 00390 
 
Classified By: CDA Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.6X1 and X4, 1.4 (a,b,d 
) 
 
1. (S/NF) Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Kuwait.  You are 
currently scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister, Shaykh 
Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah on Saturday, July 31st.  Foreign 
Minister Dr. Shaykh Mohammed al-Sabah will most likely also 
be in attendance.  Since your last visit on March 20, there 
has been movement on several bilateral issues: DNSA Fran 
Townsend delivered a strong message on May 4 for the need to 
take aggressive action against extremists -- Kuwait has since 
cracked down on elements it accuses of funding and/or 
recruiting insurgents for Iraq; the GOK informed us June 30 
that from now on it will charge us for fuel supplied to our 
forces for Iraq operations; the GOK submitted the Article 98 
agreement to the National Assembly for ratification but has 
backed off a promise to ratify it by Amiri decree during the 
current parliamentary recess and will instead leave the 
matter for the National Assembly to take up when it returns 
to session in October; the GOK welcomed a US offer to 
transfer one Kuwaiti detainee from Guantanamo, but wants all 
twelve back; Kuwait welcomed our transfer of sovereignty to 
the Interim Iraqi Government; and Kuwaitis were reminded 
again of the benefits of our strong bilateral cooperation 
when Saddam Hussein and top figures form his regime appeared 
in an Iraqi court. 
 
2. (S/NF) COUNTER-TERRORISM: The GOK has recently moved to 
crackdown on Kuwaiti Sunni extremists, rounding up on July 22 
and 23 a reported 10-20 Kuwaitis accused of funding 
insurgents in Iraq and recruiting young Kuwaitis to go fight 
there.  The suspects have been interrogated by Kuwait State 
Security (KSS) and are expected to remain in KSS custody 
while the Ministry of Justice reviews their cases for 
possible prosecutorial action.  The roundup comes on the 
heels of the return from Iraq (via Syria) of five Kuwaiti 
youths who had been recruited to engage in 'jihad' against 
coalition forces, but refused to engage in suicide bombings 
there.  The Prime Minister was not happy to receive Ms. 
Townsend's May 4 message; he insisted that the GOK was 
following the right approach by monitoring extremists and 
trying to persuade them to eschew violence.  However, 
prominent press coverage of the return of the Kuwaiti 
'jihadists,' along with information obtained as a result of 
their interrogations, refocused the attention of the GOK on 
the threat posed by Sunni extremists.  Despite the recent 
crackdown, KSS currently suffers from weak leadership and 
remains constrained by legal restrictions (although the GOK 
has been fully cooperative with US and UN requests to freeze 
bank accounts suspected of involvement in terrorist finance, 
funding insurgents abroad is not yet seen as being a crime in 
Kuwait). 
 
3.  (S/NF) FUEL FOR OIF:  In addition to providing the 
indispensable platform for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), 
Kuwait has supplied free-of-charge unlimited fuel for OIF 
forces:  over $450 million worth in 2003 (compared to $8 
million in 2002), and continuing at the rate of approximately 
1.2 million gallons/day.  Following the transfer of sovereign 
authority to the Iraqi Interim Government, the GOK informed 
us that it would keep supplying fuel for OIF but would charge 
us for it starting June 29, 2004 (ref D).  Assistant 
Secretary of Defense Rodman has recommended to SecDef that 
 
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the Iraqi Interim Government be requested to ask the GOK to 
continue providing the fuel free-of-charge on its behalf.  We 
strongly doubt the GOK would respond positively to such a 
request.  Kuwaitis still remember all too well what happened 
the last time they acceded to an Iraqi request to provide oil 
on its behalf.  The GOK was surprised that Deputy Secretary 
Armitage did not raise the issue during his July 18 meeting 
(ref E) with Acting Prime Minister Shaykh Nawaf al-Ahmed 
al-Sabah and they may have interpreted this as our 
acquiescence.  The Prime Minister will probably be prepared 
to discuss the issue with you should you choose to raise it. 
 
4.  (C) ARTICLE 98:  The Prime Minister told the Deputy 
Secretary April 19 that the Article 98 agreement signed on 
 
SIPDIS 
June 18, 2003 could be brought into force without 
parliamentary ratification (ref C).  However, since then, the 
Cabinet Legal Committee has concluded that parliamentary 
ratification is required, and the agreement has been 
submitted to the National Assembly. Parliament adjourned 
without acting on the matter. The Foreign Minister had 
promised us that the GOK would bring the agreement into force 
by means of an Amiri decree during the parliamentary summer 
recess, which began on June 30.  However, the Foreign 
Minister informed the Ambassador July 24 that the GOK will 
not issue this decree, but will await the October reconvening 
of the National Assembly (ref F). (NOTE: We treat the 
existence of the agreement as Confidential, because it has 
never been publicly confirmed by the GOK.  END NOTE.) 
 
5.  (C) GUANTANAMO:  Twelve Kuwaitis are among the detainees 
at Guantanamo, and one of them is a party in a case that made 
it to the US Supreme Court, which ruled that detainees have 
the right to challenge their detention in the US courts. 
Washington recently informed the GOK that it was prepared to 
transfer one of the Kuwaitis to GOK custody; the GOK wants 
them all back, and says it would be prepared to prosecute 
them. 
 
6.  (C) IRAQ:  The GOK continues to be a strong supporter of 
the Iraqi political transition process.  Despite being irked 
that Prime Minister Allawi omitted Kuwait from the list of 
countries he thanked for their support, Prime Minister Shaykh 
Sabah made clear that would not be allowed to mar relations. 
Prime Minister Allawi will arrive in Kuwait on July 31 for 
bilateral discussions with Shaykh Sabah and Foreign Minister 
Dr. Shaykh Mohammed.  The appearance in an Iraqi court of 
Saddam Hussein and several other top officials of the former 
regime, including "Chemical Ali," reminded Kuwaitis of the 
threat that regime had posed and the service we have done to 
their country and the region by eliminating it.  A Kuwaiti 
lawyer appointed by the GOK is assisting the Iraqi Special 
Tribunal process. 
 
7.  (SBU) IPR: Kuwait has one of the worst IPR records in the 
Gulf, according to industry sources and USTR.  At the 
Embassy's recommendation, Kuwait was placed on the Special 
301 Priority Watch List this year.  It would be helpful if 
you stressed that effective protection of IPR is central to 
the success of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement 
(TIFA) signed in March, which both sides see as the first 
step towards a Free Trade Agreement.  Information Minister 
Mohammed Abulhassan told the Ambassador July 5 that the GOK 
is committed to getting off the Priority Watch List this year. 
TUELLER