US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3038

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003038 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, PREL, KU 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: PRIME MINISTER SHAYKH 
SABAH AL-AHMED AL-SABAH'S VISIT TO THE U.S. 
 
1. Summary: The exhaustively covered and widely hailed 
visit of Kuwaiti Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al- 
Jaber Al-Sabah to Washington DC sparked many columnists to 
examine the state of Kuwait-U.S. relations. While some 
commentators noted recent bilateral points of contention, 
such as trafficking in persons, intellectual property 
rights protection, and student visa issuance, the overall 
verdict was that the state of the bilateral relationship is 
strong. Columnist Dr. Zuhair Al-Abbad, advisor to the 
Ministry of Information, wrote in Al-Seyassah, "The Kuwait- 
U.S. relations are distinguished, old and robust." End 
Summary. 
 
2. Writing in pro-government daily Al-Anba July 4, Sami Al- 
Nesf, media advisor to the prime minister, wrote: "The 
friendly atmosphere and the warm welcome that Kuwait's 
Prime Minister received from President Bush, Vice President 
Cheney, Secretary Rice, members of the U.S. Congress, and 
other dignitaries was an indication of the strong ties that 
link Kuwait to the United States. 
 
The friendly and warm welcome of Kuwait's delegation by the 
U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Rice was obvious. She thanked 
Kuwait and the Kuwaiti government for their courageous 
stances in support of international decisions.  She also 
congratulated Kuwaiti women on their recent political 
achievement.  Secretary Rice noted that Kuwait has a long 
tradition of democracy and she applauded Kuwait's journey 
towards reform and full democracy. 
 
In regards to domestic laborers and intellectual property 
rights, Kuwait explained its official commitment to achieve 
positive changes on these fronts.  It was also noted that 
these issue are not exclusive to Kuwait, but rather they 
are common problems that exist in every country. 
 
3. Writing in Al-Anba on July 4, Walid Awaid wrote: "We 
were very pleased to hear what the Chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, said after his 
meeting with Kuwait's P.M. Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed regarding 
the difficulties that face our Kuwaiti students to get 
visas to the U.S.  The promises were encouraging, and we 
remain optimistic that further efforts would be exerted to 
relax the process, and make visas to Kuwaiti students more 
attainable. 
 
Nobody can deny the U.S. the right to defend its borders 
against possible aggressors.  All we are saying is that 
security measures must be effective while at the same time 
they must not be a burden to those who want to go to the 
U.S. for all the right reasons." 
 
4. Writing in pro-government daily Al-Seyassah on July 4, 
Dr. Zuhair Al-Abbad, advisor to the Ministry of 
Information, wrote: "The Kuwait-U.S. relations are 
distinguished, old and robust. Such relations date back to 
the reign of the former Amir of Kuwait, the late Shaykh 
Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This means the relations between 
the two countries began even prior to the oil era, Kuwait's 
independence, and prior to Kuwait's representation in the 
UN . During the reign of all of the Amirs of Kuwait, 
including Shaykh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti-U.S. 
relations improved and this can be perceived through a firm 
stance adopted by the U.S. while dealing with the notorious 
Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait by the defunct 
regime of Saddam Hussein." 
 
5. Writing in independent daily Al-Rai Al-Aam on July 4, 
Chancellor of the American University of Kuwait Dr. Shafiq 
Al-Ghabra wrote: "The Kuwaiti Prime Minister's visit to 
Washington comes in the context of a long history of 
bilateral relations between the two countries . the pact 
concluded in 1991 between Kuwait and the United States 
following the liberation of Kuwait represented a turning 
point in Kuwait's relations with the U.S. 
 
Meanwhile, Kuwait's decision to support the U.S. in its 
efforts to oust Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 injected a 
new life in the relations between the two countries, given 
the fact that during the Anglo-U.S. war on Iraq, Kuwait 
allowed its territories to be used as a launch pad during 
the war. This happened when some countries in the region 
such as Turkey refused to allow the U.S. to use its space 
and Kuwait's decision to fill that role resulted in the 
U.S. considering Kuwait a strategic non-NATO ally. 
 
6. Writing in Al-Watan on July 6, Abdullah Al-Shayji wrote: 
"The warm welcome of Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed by President 
Bush and members of the U.S. administration, including 
members of the U.S. Congress, has strengthened the solid 
and core strategic and geopolitical partnership between the 
US and Kuwait . Kuwait is a special case of strategic 
alliance for the U.S.  As former Secretary Powell put it, 
'The relationship with Kuwait is indispensable.' This visit 
has great implications, and I will write more on the 
subject in future articles." 
 
 
******************************************* 
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
********************************************* 
 
TUELLER