US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT4106

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004106 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, INR-B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PINR, KU, IZ, BA, NATO 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI SECURITY ADVISOR TO SEE DEPUTY NSA HADLEY; 
DISCUSSES NATO TRIP, IRAN, REGIONAL SECURITY 
 
REF: A. USNATO 1064 
     B. KUWAIT 3984 
 
Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. Biographical information included; please see para 7. 
 
2. (C) Summary: Kuwaiti National Security Advisor Shaykh 
Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah confirmed with DCM on 
September 29 that he will meet with Deputy NSA and NSA 
designate Stephen Hadley on Saturday, December 4, at 1500, on 
the sidelines of the IISS Gulf Dialogue Conference in 
Bahrain. The two discussed possible topics of conversation, 
including Iraq, counterterrorism cooperation, Iran and the 
peace process.  End Summary. 
 
3. (C) Shaykh Sabah, who had just returned from Brussels, 
began by noting that he had had a very productive visit with 
the USNATO Charge while there. He said Kuwait hoped to 
bolster counterterrorism cooperation through the Istanbul 
Cooperation Initiative (ref a). 
 
4. (C) On Iraq, Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled said Iraq's neighbors 
had "a shared interest and responsibility" to ensure the 
success of the political process there.  He said Kuwait had 
noted a series of positive developments regarding Iraq (i.e. 
the Sharm El Sheikh conference and the Paris Club debt 
forgiveness) and was urging Iraq's Sunni population to 
participate in the upcoming elections. 
 
5. (C) Sabah Al-Khaled said Iran seemed to have changed its 
tone after the U.S. elections and had agreed to host a 
meeting of neighboring Interior Ministers in Tehran on 
November 30 to discuss Iraq's borders (ref b).  He said 
Iranian FM Kamal Kharazi had told Kuwaiti FM Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed Al-Sabah during the Sharm El Sheikh conference that 
it would not object to a U.N.-led Multinational Force in Iraq 
and was further ready to assist in training Iraqi security 
forces. Sabah confirmed that Kuwaiti Minister of Interior 
Shaykh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah will attend the Tehran meeting. 
 
6. (C) On the Arab-Israeli peace process, Sabah Al-Khaled 
said increased attention to solving this conflict would ease 
pressure on Kuwait, as a moderate in the region.  He said 
Kuwait would host former PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas 
during the first half of December, as part of Abbas' planned 
tour of the Gulf. 
 
7. (C) Biographical Information: Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled 
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah serves as the President of the National 
Security Bureau (also referred to as the National Security 
Council) and is Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed,s de 
facto National Security Advisor, a position that allows him a 
substantial amount of access to the PM.  He previously served 
as a diplomat at the U.N. and was Kuwait's Ambassador to 
Saudi Arabia.  Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled hails from the Hamad 
branch of the Sabah family. His brother, MG Ahmed Al-Khaled, 
is the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces and 
his cousin is current Defense Minister and Deputy Prime 
Minister Shaykh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. 
 
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LEBARON