US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1071

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2015 
TAGS: PTER, EFIN, ETTC, PREL, PGOV, KU 
SUBJECT: SECURITY BUREAU REPORTS COUNTERTERRORISM 
SUCCESSES, BUT WORK REMAINS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 1069 
     B. KUWAIT 1054 
     C. KUWAIT 881 
     D. KUWAIT 806 
     E. KUWAIT 247 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  In a March 14 meeting with National 
Security Bureau President Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled, the 
Ambassador expressed appreciation for Kuwait's aggressive 
response to recent terror activities and stressed the need 
for Kuwait to sustain momentum in rounding up militants, 
amending laws related to terror activities, and stemming the 
flow of money between terrorists and their financiers.  He 
reiterated that the U.S. is ready to assist Kuwait in 
training and would welcome bilateral discussions on terror 
financing.  Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled informed the Ambassador of 
a government-wide plan to combat terrorism which his bureau 
would coordinate.  He said key elements of the plan involved 
reviewing existing laws on terrorism, defining "jihad," 
controlling charitable contributions, and educating Kuwait's 
youth.  He confirmed Kuwait would assist the Palestinian 
people and agreed that Iran's interest in Iraq was cause for 
concern.  The Ambassador also raised the importance of the 
resumption of Kuwaiti assistance to the Palestinian people 
and noted U.S. concerns about Iranian interference in Iraq. 
End Summary. 
 
National Security Bureau to Coordinate CT Plan 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2.  (C)  Ambassador LeBaron opened his March 14 meeting with 
Kuwaiti National Security Bureau (NSB) President Shaykh Sabah 
Al-Khaled Al-Sabah by commending the GOK's aggressive 
response to recent terror incidents and asking for Shaykh 
Sabah Al-Khaled's impressions on Kuwait's CT activities. 
Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled reported that in a closed session of 
the National Assembly in February, Prime Minister Shaykh 
Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced a 10-point plan of 
action and a three-year budget of 5.5M KD (nearly USD 19M 
)for CT activities.  Implementation of the action plan 
involves the ministries of Interior, Awqaf and Islamic 
Affairs, Social Affairs and Labor, Information, Finance, 
Education, and Justice.  NSB was tasked with coordination of 
the government's CT work and will review the individual 
action plans of each ministry, monitor intra-ministry 
coordination, and submit a monthly report to the Council of 
Ministers.  Several committees had been formed under the 
leadership of various ministries to strengthen the oversight 
of charitable organizations and to review the range of laws 
on terrorism.  Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled noted that a particular 
focus was narrowing the definition of "jihad" to prevent 
insurgents such as Hamed Al-Ali from pleading freedom of 
speech when inciting jihad.  He added the GOK made it a 
priority to "concentrate on the hearts and minds of young 
people." 
 
GOK Wants to Know Who's Behind the Terrorists 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Commenting on the law enforcement aspect of Kuwait's 
CT activities, Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled said the raid on the 
Peninsula Lions cell yielded lots of useful information on 
terror cells (ref c).  Although the GOK, in his opinion, has 
stayed one step ahead of the militants, unknown cells remain 
a potential threat, and he noted that Mohsen Al-Fadhli and 
Khaled Al-Dosari are still at large.  The GOK was also 
targeting Kuwaitis in Iraq and Syria, with a goal of 
uncovering who recruited them, financed their travel, trained 
them, armed them, and harbored them.  He was appreciative of 
information provided by post on four alleged Kuwaitis in U.S. 
custody in Iraq -- he confirmed two were indeed Kuwaiti 
nationals -- and said the GOK would investigate who 
facilitated their travel and assisted them. 
 
Terror Financing Must Be a Priority 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C)  The Ambassador remarked that NSB's coordinating role 
was very important as a comprehensive CT strategy had many 
facets.  He again offered training assistance as a way to 
sustain momentum in Kuwait's contributions to the Global War 
on Terror.  He said he was pleased to see the removal of 
illegal charity kiosks, a source of untraceable funds, and 
believed attacking terror financing was key to Kuwait's CT 
assault (ref c).  The Ambassador further emphasized the need 
for a means to monitor cash flows out of the country.  He 
explained the U.S. did not want to outlaw transfers, but 
rather encouraged the GOK to require declarations for large 
sums of money as a deterrent against cash flows for terror 
funding.  He also recommended that the Financial Intelligence 
Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank be able to share information 
promptly with other FIUs without seeking approval from the 
Public Prosecutor for each occurrence. 
5.  (C)  Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled affirmed the GOK intended to 
focus on money laundering and money transfers, thus the 
February decision to join the UN Convention on the 
Suppression of Terror Financing, but commented that in the 
recent cases they investigated, money was transferred 
hand-to-hand (much of it from Saudi Arabia) and bank 
transactions were rare.  Another complicating factor 
explained the Shaykh was the "khums," the annual donation the 
Shi'a community makes to its clerics.  He reported that 
Kuwaiti Shi'a, targeted for their wealth, give one-fifth of 
their annual profits to religious leaders, including Sistani 
and Al Sadr, and there was no means to control how the funds 
were used.  Another challenge, according Shaykh Thamer 
Al-Sabah, the Office Director for Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled, was 
legitimate Kuwaiti charities whose overseas branches were 
operated by non-Kuwaitis.  The GOK trusted the Kuwaiti 
proprietors, but learned the hard way in Afghanistan, that 
local staff could easily divert funds for other purposes.  As 
a result, part of the action plan of the Ministry of Social 
Affairs and Labor, was to play a formal role in the 
management of Kuwaiti charitable donations overseas.  As an 
example, the Shaykh commended Saudi Arabia's use of UN 
organizations to disperse charitable contributions to the 
Palestinians, but said the system would not work in Kuwait 
because charities, although under the umbrella of the 
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, operated independent of 
the government.  (Note:  The Ambassador commended the GOK 
decision to sign the Terror Financing Convention and 
encouraged the GOK to approve the last of the 12 
international terrorism conventions: the Convention for the 
Suppression of Terrorist Bombings.  Shaykh Thamer reported 
March 15 that the GOK deposited the convention with the UN in 
April 2004 (ref a).  End Note.) 
 
Iran, Iraq, and the PA 
---------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  Turning to regional issues, Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled 
said Kuwait would fulfill its financial obligations to the 
Palestinian people and looked forward to additional meetings 
with PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad in order to assure that 
Kuwaiti assistance goes to the right places.  On Iran, he 
said the GOK was aware of Iranian interference in Iraq prior 
to the elections, but could not confirm whether Iran 
continued to meddle, although he was certain Iran maintained 
an interest in the formation of the Iraqi Transitional 
Government (ref b).  Continuing with Iran, he said that GOK 
and GOI had finally reached an agreement on a gas deal in 
which Iran will supply daily 300 million cubic geet of 
natural gas, but the water agreement was stalled (ref d).  He 
voiced concern about the delay in forming the ITG, but agreed 
with the Ambassador that it was important for the General 
Assembly to meet March 16. 
 
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LEBARON