US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT185

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000185 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, PREL, KISL, KPAO, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAITIS NOT SURPRISED BY JANUARY 10 SHOOTOUT; 
MOST BELIEVE VIOLENCE WILL INCREASE 
 
REF: KUWAIT 00174 
 
Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary and Comment:  Most Kuwait dailies described 
the January 10 incident (reftel), in which two state security 
officers and one militant were killed in a shootout, as an 
aggression which "shocked the Kuwaiti street."  While the act 
was roundly denounced throughout the society, interpretations 
differed on what it means for Kuwait.  Although newspapers 
described the attack as shocking, many Kuwaitis were not 
surprised by the violent shootout.  Mainstream Islamists were 
quick to denounce the attack.  If the other involved 
assailants -- currently on the run -- are caught, many will 
be watching closely to see which prominent Islamists come to 
the rhetorical aid of those detained extremists -- something 
they have done repeatedly in the past.  It is worth noting 
that even proponents of a GOK crackdown expressed no 
confidence that a Government response would be meaningful. 
End Summary and Comment. 
 
2. (U) The killing of two Kuwait State Security (KSS) 
officers in a shootout with militants on January 10 has 
shocked Kuwaitis and has been roundly condemned by all 
sectors of society.  All English and Arabic dailies devoted 
extensive front-page coverage to the story which included 
graphic pictures of the crime scene.  The father of one of 
the slain KSS officers characterized what happened to his son 
as an "act of God" and demanded that the perpetrators be 
hunted and brought to justice.  Many Kuwaiti citizens called 
news dailies and asked them to promote a weapons collection 
program as a security and social priority.  Many liberals are 
urging the GOK to deal firmly with terrorists and to uproot 
their funding sources.  Even Scientific Salafi MP Walid 
Al-Tabtabaei said that the attack is unacceptable and morally 
undermines the pillars of stability and security in Kuwait. 
He stressed that Kuwaitis will not accept violence as a tool 
for change. 
 
What Does This Mean For Kuwait? 
------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU)  During January 11 meetings with Kuwait University 
professors, it was apparent that not all Kuwaitis agreed on 
the meaning of the incident.  Professor of political science 
Dr. Abdull-Redha Al-Assiri said that while this violent 
behavior does not have its roots in Kuwait, the country 
cannot isolate itself from regional influences.  He agreed 
that an extremist mentality was growing in the region and 
that more attacks were almost certain to come, but believed 
that Kuwait's wealth and political freedoms would ensure that 
Kuwait would not succumb to the levels of violence seen in 
Saudi Arabia.  He stated that the GOK is only looking at the 
problem as a security matter, but insisted they should be 
reacting to the socio-political ramifications as well.  Dr. 
Al-Assiri stated his belief that the GOK would initiate a 
short-term crackdown on militants but that ultimately, 
nothing would change.  Politically moderate professor Dr. 
Falah Madaris told PolOffs that the GOK must crack down or 
more violence would undoubtedly result. 
 
4. (SBU) Traditional Salafi Kuwait University political 
science professor Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghanim told PolOffs that 
this attack shows the weakness of the extremists.  He 
explained that the attack on KSS officers shows that the 
extremists have no meaningful targets and the very fact that 
State Security was following them at the time demonstrates 
that the GOK is able to monitor and prevent these extremists 
from committing acts of terror.  Dr. Abdullah believes that 
there will be an increase in terror-related attacks in the 
short-term, but that the public denunciation of extremist 
actions in Kuwait will cause the extremist mentality to wane. 
 
5. (C) The director of the Center for Strategic and Future 
Studies at Kuwait University Dr. Shamlan Al-Issa (protect), a 
liberal who has been warning about the growing threat of 
extremism in Kuwait for years, told PolOffs on January 11 
that Kuwait is fertile soil for terrorism and the violence 
will only increase until the problem is addressed not just as 
a security matter, but as a social and educational problem. 
He said the GOK has been ignoring the actions of Islamists 
and has overlooked the close relationship between hardline 
Salafis in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, thus allowing for the 
growth of a mentality of violence. 
 
Kuwaiti "Bloggers" Blast GOK Over Attacks 
----------------------------------------- 
 
6. (U) Not to be outdone by the professional pundits, 
primarily young, pro-West, and well-educated Kuwaiti internet 
bloggers -- participants in internet web log chats -- had 
their say with most agreeing that the attack did not come as 
a surprise.  One blogger wrote "theeeey're heeeere!," and 
then continued "they were here a long time ago but the 
government ain't doing a thing about it!"  Another wrote that 
he wasn't surprised at all by news of the attack and advised 
others to be prepared for more extreme things to happen.  The 
writer continued "this is a result of the government's gamble 
since the invasion, by flirting with the Islamists as much as 
possible and giving them all the freedom in the world to do 
whatever they want with this country."  A third blogger asked 
why the terrorist who died in the shootout was supposedly 
detained on several occasions but was allowed to walk free. 
This person ended with the comment that "lives could have 
been spared if we had a proper judicial system." 
 
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LEBARON