US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT4050

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004050 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, EB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2015 
TAGS: AEMR, EAID, PREL, ENRG, KU, US 
SUBJECT: TFUS01: GOK BEGINS TO CLARIFY ITS INTENTIONS ON 
BREAKDOWN OF HURRICANE KATRINA ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: KUWAIT 3947 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary/Comment.  Ambassador was convoked to the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 14 by Khaled 
Al-Babtain, the acting MFA Under Secretary.  Al-Babtain 
clarified that the GOK 500M USD assistance offer would be 
comprised of 100M USD in cash for humanitarian assistance 
(HA); 300M USD in petrochemical products; and 100M USD in jet 
fuel for use by U.S. forces in Iraq.  He explained that the 
first 100M in HA would be directly given to the Bush-Clinton 
Fund (25M), the Red Cross (25M), with the remainder (50M) 
going to the Kuwaiti Red Crescent for dispersal to the Red 
Cross.  Al-Babtain promised to provide specifics on dispersal 
modalities for these donations.  He welcomed the Ambassador's 
recommendation to sell the petrochemical products on the 
market and donate cash proceeds to relief efforts, although 
he is not the decision-maker on the specifics of this 
process.  End Summary 
 
2. (C) COMMENT FROM AMBASSADOR: The clarification on the 
modalities for accepting the Kuwaiti aid will be an iterative 
process that will take some time.  Most of the aid will also 
be subject to National Assembly approval, and the Assembly 
does not come back into session until mid-October.  The offer 
of jet fuel is in direct response to a CENTCOM request for 
additional fuel for operations in Iraq.  This will mean that 
DOD does not have to buy the fuel (and thus effectively picks 
up $100 million of DOD costs incurred for Katrina aid).  My 
interlocutor today welcomed our idea on turning the rest of 
the fuel contribution into cash, but he does not have the 
last word on this and the idea will need to be 
operationalized with the KPC experts.  I suggest that 
Washington start talking to the KPC rep there about this 
aspect of the contribution.  Finally, the overall 
distribution of the funds represents a cabinet decision by 
the Kuwaitis and the USG should not put itself in a position 
of trying to re-jigger the distributions or micro-manage the 
timing.  We need to keep in mind that this aid is nearly 
equal to all the other international aid promises combined, 
and manage our acceptance with efficiency, but also with 
patience and grace.  END COMMENT. 
 
3. (C) On September 14, Ambassador met with Khaled Al-Babtain 
(at his request), the Acting Under-Secretary at the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs (MFA), to discuss the details and 
modalities of the GOK's 500 million USD Hurricane Katrina 
contribution.   Ambassador shared with Al-Babtain the 
NSC-approved points detailing the USG position and thanked 
Al-Babtain for the GOK's generous offer.  Ambassador asked 
for clarification on the GOK offer and the expected timing of 
aid dispersal.  Al-Babtain explained that the GOK was also 
eager to move forward in planning.  Reading from a decision 
memo of the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers (cabinet), Babtain 
provided the GOK's intentions on the breakdown of their aid. 
It will be: 
 
--100M USD cash for humanitarian assistance 
--100M USD in jet fuel for U.S. forces in Iraq 
--300M USD worth of petrochemical products 
 
 
100 Million USD Cash for Humanitarian Assistance 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
4.  (C) He explained that the 100M cash contribution for 
humanitarian assistance would be distributed as follows: 
 
 --25M USD directly to the Bush-Clinton hurricane relief fund 
(to be done on 9/15 in New York) 
 --25M USD contribution to the American Red Cross (timing to 
be determined) 
 --50M USD dispersal to the Kuwaiti Red Crescent to 
coordinate with the American Red Cross (timing to be 
determined) 
 
5.  (C) Al-Babtain was unaware about the specific timing of 
dispersals beyond the 25 million USD for the Bush-Clinton 
Fund.  He assured the Ambassador that he would seek 
clarification on the timing and other details of the 
humanitarian assistance dispersals. 
 
100 Million USD in Jet Fuel 
--------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) This portion was forecast by the Energy Minister on 
September 5 (see reftel, para 4).  Al-Babtain pointed out 
that 100M USD worth of jet fuel would be provided for U.S. 
military operations in Kuwait.  He noted that the fuel offer 
was in response to the USG request for additional fuel to 
meet operational requirements in Iraq.  Asked about 
modalities for this portion, Ambassador suggested strongly 
that this portion be handled by Defense Energy Support Center 
(for U.S.) and Kuwait Petroleum Company. 
 
300 Million USD in Petrochemical Products 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) With regard to the remaining 300M USD, Al-Babtain 
welcomed the U.S. input recommending sale of the 
petrochemical products on the open market and transfer the 
cash proceeds directly to hurricane relief efforts.  The 
Ambassador shared with Al-Babtain the NSC-approved points 
explaining the efficiencies afforded by cash contributions 
and the benefit the added supply would have on the global 
market.  Ambassador passed along the non-paper as a reference 
outlining the USG position. 
 
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LEBARON