US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT2996

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002996 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PPD, NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, KDEM, KU 
SUBJECT: AMERICAN SOLDIERS, KUWAITI WOMEN BOND OVER 
BASKETBALL GAME 
 
1. Summary: The First Annual Kuwait-America Friendship 
Basketball Exhibition, a basketball game held June 30 
at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, between the Arifjan 
servicewomen's team and the Kuwait Women's Sports Club 
team, was a huge success. Held against the backdrop of 
the May parliamentary approval of a bill granting 
Kuwaiti women their political rights, the game was 
widely covered in local print and broadcast media. A 
standing-room only crowd of well over 100 service 
members turned out to watch the contest, which the 
U.S. team won, 38-37, as the clock ran out on the 
Kuwaiti team's final possession. Participants on both 
sides lauded the event and demanded a rematch. End 
summary. 
 
2. The game began with a request from the Kuwait 
Women's Sports Club (known in Arabic as "Al-Fatat") 
for exhibitions and competitions with Americans in 
several sports, including basketball, volleyball, and 
karate. Post lacks the manpower to field a women's 
basketball team, so PAS asked their counterparts at 
Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) if 
Camp Arifjan had a women's basketball team, and if 
they'd like to play a Kuwaiti team. There is such a 
team, and they welcomed the idea. 
 
3. Engaging the U.S. military elements stationed in 
Kuwait in cultural exchanges and other events with the 
Kuwaiti population has long been a mission goal. With 
negative portrayals of the U.S. military in the Arab 
media stemming from Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and 
the continued operations in Iraq, and given the large 
U.S. troop presence in Kuwait, Post continually seeks 
opportunities to portray the human side of the U.S. 
soldier. A friendly basketball game provided a perfect 
venue for that, as well as a subtle subtext of women's 
empowerment as Kuwaiti women prepare to vote and run 
for office for the first time in the 2007 elections. 
As Al-Fatat Club Sports Supervisor Nawal Al-Bader told 
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the state newswire covering 
the event, "The presence of Kuwaiti women in sports is 
proof that Kuwaiti women are not only advancing in 
politics, but also in sports." American player Sgt. 
Michelle Hall described the game as "a bonding of 
women all over the world." 
 
4. The game itself, held at Camp Arifjan because of 
restrictions on U.S. military travel off-base in 
Kuwait, proved far more competitive than post and 
their military counterparts anticipated, thrilling an 
overflow crowd of U.S. servicemen and women who 
crammed the bleachers and ringed the court with 
folding chairs. Fears of an American blowout quickly 
receded as the Kuwaiti team, featuring four players 
who wore the hijab and played in long sleeves, jumped 
out to a quick, 7-0 lead. 
 
5. The Kuwaitis led for most of the game, propelled by 
strong guard play, an up-tempo style and long outlet 
passes for easy baskets that continually caught the 
American team unawares. The Americans, fielding more, 
bigger, players, stayed in the game by exploiting 
their size and winning the rebounding battle. The 
skill and toughness of the Kuwaiti team surprised and 
delighted the crowd, many of whom were openly cheering 
for the Kuwaitis, and booing calls made against them, 
by the second half. In the final minute, the U.S. team 
stole the ball and went ahead on a fast break lay-up. 
That basket was the difference, as the Kuwaitis fell, 
unable to get a shot off before time expired. 
 
6. Everyone involved praised the event, and the local 
print and broadcast media widely covered the game. Al- 
Rai Al-Aam, Kuwait's largest daily newspaper 
(circulation 80,000) ran a story and two pictures in 
their July 1 edition. English-language papers Arab 
Times (circulation 40,000) and Daily Star (circulation 
20,000) also ran the story and photos. Kuwait-based 
pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Rai TV covered the game 
and ran their report on that evening's sports 
broadcast. Embassy Charge d'Affairs Matthew Tueller, 
who with CFLCC Col. Theresa Olson presented all 
players with medals at the end of the game, told KUNA, 
"We hope to do this more often with more sports 
clubs." Col. Olsen said, "The Kuwaiti women were 
fantastic . I think that this not only shows 
sportsmanship, but also the integration of two 
cultures and the respect they have for each other." 
 
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