US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT4356

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004356 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/CT, NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, KU 
SUBJECT: MEETING IN KUWAIT OF G8 COUNTER TERRORISM ACTION 
GROUP 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b), (c), and 
 (d) 
 
1.  (C) As current G-8 President, the UK Embassy in Kuwait 
hosted and chaired a meeting of the G-8 Counter Terrorism 
Action Group (CTAG) on October 10.  Ambassador LeBaron 
attended along with other representatives of G-8 diplomatic 
missions.  British Charge d'Affaires Jamie Bowden gave a G-8 
Presidency overview of the current security situation as well 
as a Counter Terrorism (CT) assessment of Kuwait.  The 
embassies of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, 
Japan, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland were all represented by 
their Ambassadors or Deputy Chiefs of Mission. 
 
2.  (C) The purpose of the meeting was to collectively review 
current CT programs offered to the Kuwaitis by members of the 
G-8 and to identify and address any gaps in the training 
curriculum.  Some attendees, including the Ambassador, the 
Italian Ambassador, the German DCM, and the French DCM, gave 
brief outlines of bilateral CT programs with Kuwait.  The 
British CDA noted concerns about the lack of effective CT 
coordination among ministries, substandard forensics of 
Kuwaiti police, and lenient sentences by the courts in cases 
involving terrorists.  He noted that the GOK was "open" to 
suggestions and "got the message" that terrorists were on 
their soil after clashes with extremists in January 2005. 
 
3.  (C) The meeting then shifted focus to terrorist financing 
and Ambassador LeBaron briefed the group on steps being taken 
by the GOK, including drafting a new anti-money laundering 
bill aimed at criminalizing terrorist financiers and 
increasing intelligence sharing among financial institutions. 
 The Ambassador also briefed on past and planned ATA 
sponsored training.  The meeting ended with an agreement to 
pass the programs list and suggestions back to CTAG London, 
which will produce an overview of the GCC's CT training 
situation based on the reports received. 
LEBARON