US embassy cable - 02KUWAIT5261

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA, IO/UNP, EUR/UBI 
GENEVA FOR STONECIPHER 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR OFRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2012 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: (C) TALABANI PLEASED WITH KUWAITI RECEPTION 
 
Classified By: (U) AMBASSADOR RICHARD H. JONES; REASON 1.5 (D) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Jalal Talabani, leader of the Iraqi Kurdish 
PUK, told Ambassador December 3 he had been well received by 
the GOK, which promised to engage with other Iraqi opposition 
groups as well, and to facilitate contacts with other Gulf 
states.  Kuwait's National Assembly had proposed to host a 
small conference on the future of Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations, as 
early as next month.  Talabani expressed assurances that the 
PUK was committed to a federal, democratic Iraq respectful of 
human rights, with much smaller armed forces.  He said he had 
also had good meetings with the French government in Paris. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) At his request (conveyed via NEA/NGA), Jalal 
Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 
(PUK), called on the Ambassador December 3, accompanied by 
Adnan Mufti and Adel Murad.  PolChief sat in as Notetaker. 
 
3.  (C) HIGH-LEVEL WELCOME: Talabani, who arrived at the 
Embassy with a substantial Kuwaiti security escort, noted 
that this was his second visit to Kuwait since the liberation 
in 1991.  He was very pleased with the welcome he had 
received from the GOK, including a symbolic meeting with the 
Crown Prince/Prime Minister, whose debility precludes him 
from carrying out official duties in any substantive way.  He 
had also met with the man who actually runs the country, 
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shaykh Sabah 
al-Ahmed, as well as with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior 
Minister Shaykh Mohammed al-Khaled al-Sabah, Minister of 
State for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Dr. Mohammed al-Sabah, 
Speaker of the National Assembly Jassem al-Khorafi, and 
Chairman of the Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee 
Mohammed al-Saqer.  A planned courtesy call on the Amir was 
scrapped at the last minute on the advice of the ruler's 
doctor. 
 
4. (C) SUBSTANCE OF TALKS:  Talabani told the Ambassador that 
Shaykh Sabah was keen to cooperate with the US to get rid of 
Saddam, and did not express any need for a UNSCR authorizing 
use of force.  Shaykh Sabah promised to engage with other 
Iraqi opposition groups and facilitate contacts between the 
opposition and other Gulf states.  The National Assembly's 
al-Saqer had promised to attend the upcoming London 
conference of the Iraqi opposition, and Shaykh Sabah had 
promised to send an observer as well.  (Talabani summarized 
the purposes of that conferences as follows:  unite all Iraqi 
opposition groups' appeals to the population; discuss how to 
reshape Iraq as a democratic country after Saddam; establish 
a coordinating/steering committee.)  The Kuwaiti National 
Assembly proposed to host a small conference on the future of 
Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations, perhaps as early as next month.  If 
the event took place in January, Talabani said, he would plan 
to participate in person; if later, he would send Mufti and 
Murad. 
 
5.  (C) COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY:  Talabani stressed to the 
Ambassador, as he said he had done to the Kuwaitis, his 
commitment to democratization of Iraq, preservation of 
national unity in a federal system, and respect for human 
rights.  He said it was important to cultivate political ties 
across ethnic and religious lines in advance of regime 
change, in order to avoid problems afterwards.  In this 
spirit, the PUK had decided to give 8 of its seats at the 
London Conference to Sunni Arabs.  Even though the Kurds had 
suffered casualties equal to the total number of Kuwaiti 
citizens, they did not hate the Iraqi people, just the 
regime.  Talabani agreed with the Ambassador that Iraq needs 
strong institutions and the rule of law, not a strong man. 
He thought a three-person presidential council should be part 
of the new political structure of the Iraqi state.  Noting 
that there are already 4 million Iraqis outside the country, 
he made the point that national unity has already been 
broken; regime change will help restore it.  In his view, 
Iraq needs no more than about 50,000 troops, i.e. about a 
tenth of the current level.  A well-trained police force will 
be an early and essential need. 
 
6.  (C) DEALING WITH TURKEY:  Talabani said he had assured 
the Turkish Government that "we don't want or need an 
independent Kurdish state," but a "better life and our 
rights."  He said the GOT had decided to talk to the Iraqi 
opposition.  He described the new Turkish Cabinet as people 
he knew, who were committed to raising democracy to European 
standards, amending the Constitution to prohibit torture, 
promoting political and press freedoms, and giving the Kurds 
more space:  recognizing their language, ending the 4-year 
curfew in Kurdish areas.  As for ex-PM Ecevit, Talabani said 
he was a paid agent of Saddam and deserved his recent 
electoral come-uppance. 
 
7.  (C) MEETINGS WITH FRENCH:  Noting that he had just come 
from Paris, Talabani said he had had "very good meetings" 
with French officials including the Interior Minister, 
MinState for Foreign Affairs, Speaker of the Senate, and 
ex-FM Vedrine.  All had supported regime change and democracy 
in Iraq, expressing hatred of Saddam, he said.  Vedrine had 
publicly proposed at an international conference that Saddam 
be replaced even if he gives up all WMD. 
 
8.  (C) ON TO WASHINGTON:  After the London conference, 
Talabani said, he would go on to Washington with the other 
top Iraqi Kurdish leader, the KDP's Barzani.  He praised US 
Ambassador to Egypt David Welch for his role in brokering the 
Washington Agreement, which he said was being implemented: 
"we are uniting our positions, and deportees have begun to 
return." 
RJONES