US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT512

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000512 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, KPAO, ASEC, KU, SA, JO, TERRORISM 
SUBJECT: RAID NETS SAUDI, JORDANIAN MILITANTS; KUWAIT 
FIGHTS TERROR WITH ALL AVAILABLE TOOLS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 446 
     B. KUWAIT 417 
     C. KUWAIT 406 
 
1. Summary: In the latest round of raids on suspected 
militants since security crackdowns began January 10, police 
on February 5 reportedly captured five suspected militants, 
including two Saudi Arabian and three Jordanian citizens. 
Kuwaiti security forces have been authorized and are using 
all necessary measures to round up suspected militants.  The 
security forces are enforcing existing laws long ignored and 
the political establishment is proposing the strengthening of 
others.  End Summary. 
 
Raid Nets Five Militants 
------------------------- 
 
2. Kuwaiti security forces backed by armored vehicles raided 
two houses in the largely bidoon (stateless) Sulaibiya 
neighborhood west of Kuwait City on February 5, capturing 
five suspected militants, among them two Saudi and three 
Jordanian citizens, according to local press reports. 
Although the incident ended without fatalities, local 
residents reported sporadic gunfire and security forces used 
explosives to enter one of the buildings.  The raid also 
netted KD 20,000 (approximately USD 66,000) and two weapons, 
along with an unspecified number of Kuwaiti and Saudi 
passports. 
 
3. According to local dailies, the captured Saudi nationals 
had been granted Saudi nationality during the Iraqi 
occupation of Kuwait, when they fled to Saudi Arabia. Prior 
to this they had been stateless employees of the Kuwaiti 
Ministry of Interior.  Press reports indicate that all five 
were brothers and all were formerly bidoon.  A military 
contact confirmed that two of the five had been serving in 
the Kuwait armed forces. 
 
4. The raid was the latest in a series of efforts the GOK has 
undertaken to root out what it deems 'Al-Qaeda'-linked 
terrorists who had been planning operations against Western 
and GOK targets. Local Arabic daily Al-Qabas reported the 
brother of slain militant Nasser Khlaif Al-Enezi (ref b) told 
security forces that his brother had "plotted to kidnap U.S. 
soldiers and Western civilians and execute them and film the 
process."  Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed has vowed to 
"hunt (terrorists) down everywhere," and has authorized his 
cabinet to use all available resources to support the effort. 
 
Lifting the Veil for Security 
------------------------------ 
 
5. Among the more controversial actions the GOK has taken is 
the enforcement of a long-standing but unenforced 1984 law 
banning fully veiled women from driving.  After a fully 
veiled man was reportedly stopped at a police checkpoint on 
January 25, police began ticketing veiled drivers.  Local 
dailies reported February 4 that Kuwaiti police had handed 
out 155 tickets to veiled female motorists during the 
February 3-4 weekend.  Press reports indicate veiled women 
interviewed randomly at checkpoints support the enforcement 
of the law if it improves security, although some men were 
less enthusiastic about the new steps. 
 
6. Conservative MPs, some of whom have been criticized for 
attempting to get suspected militants released from custody, 
have petitioned the GOK to utilize female police officers to 
identify female drivers at checkpoints.   Tribal Islamist MP 
Khaled Al Adwah represented the group of MPs in a meeting 
with the Ministry of Interior officials in which they "urged 
the ministry not to expand the issue of showing faces in 
order not to create problems, especially that people here do 
not accept the faces of their women to be uncovered on 
streets."  Security officials at numerous checkpoints have 
insisted that veiled women identify themselves by showing 
their faces. 
 
Changes in School Curricula; Training Imams 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
7. The GOK has also announced a series of measures aimed at 
curbing the growth of extremist ideology. Undersecretary of 
the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Dr. Adel Al-Falah 
said February 4 that the Ministry would launch training 
programs for imams and mosque staff on the promotion of the 
concepts of moderation and tolerance.  Correspondingly, the 
Ministry has added two new subjects to Kuwaiti school 
curricula: "Life Skills," which covers dialogue and respect 
for others and Islamic values, and a second subject covering 
the upbringing of responsible citizens. 
 
GOK to Push Stronger Press Law 
------------------------------- 
 
8. Claiming it is acting to curb extremism, the GOK also has 
announced it will attempt to pass a much criticized, more 
restrictive version of the current press and publications 
law.  The current law prohibits publications from directly 
criticizing the Amir and provides for fines and imprisonment 
for those who attack religion or incite people to commit 
crimes.  The proposed law, which was debated in the National 
Assembly in 2003 and 2004 and did not pass, would allow the 
GOK to close offending newspapers by fiat, expand the 
government's powers of censorship and significantly weaken 
libel protection for newswriters and publishers. 
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LEBARON