US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT486

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 000486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/M, NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, PA, INR/NESA, IIP/G/NEA- 
SA, INR/B 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
CINCCENT FOR CCPA 
USDOC FOR 4520/ANESA/ONE/FITZGERALD-WILKS 
USDOC FOR ITA AND PTO/OLIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KU, KDMR 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION, 30 JANUARY-5 FEBRUARY: 
KUWAIT SECURITY; US PRESENCE IN KUWAIT; WAR IN IRAQ; AMCIT 
REPATRIATION CASE 
 
1. Summary: For the second time this week, Kuwaiti Islamic 
activist Mohamed al-Mulaifi has offered a carefully worded 
apologia for al-Qaeda's terrorist operations based on his 
exegesis of Quranic texts.  Asserting that the Prophet 
Mohammed abided by a truce with the city of Mecca while 
continuing to attack its caravans outside of its walls, 
Mulaifi-who was accused of incitement for referring to the 
killers of a US Marine on Falaika Island in October 
"martyrs"-implies that it is acceptable to both accept the 
US presence in Kuwait and struggle violently against it.  He 
also calls on the government of Kuwait to "deal gently" with 
its extremists and "engage them in dialogue." 
 
On Iraq, blame for Saddam for bringing the region to the 
brink of war contrasts with ambivalence about the US role. 
An MP accuses Americans of over-stepping their bounds in the 
repatriation case of an American-Kuwaiti girl, averring that 
Americans are here to defend Kuwait, "not to control Kuwaiti 
citizens." One Islamist commentator urges jihad in response 
to the "expected American-Jewish war against Iraq." Also, 
alleged comments by the German ambassador to Kuwait that 
removing Saddam from power would be a "disaster for Kuwait" 
leads to reflections on the challenges posed by a post- 
Saddam Iraq. End summary. 
 
2. News stories: The lead story was increased security in 
Kuwait, including the deployment of over 4000 police and 
National Guardsmen on the streets of Kuwait. 
 
All newspapers reported Iraqi Vice President Taha Yaseen 
Ramadan's threats made on February 1 to initiate suicide 
attacks against Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in response to a 
U.S. attack on Iraq. 
 
Minister of Interior, Mohammed Al-Khaled, stressed that what 
is happening in the region concerns the Iraqi regime and the 
United States, and that Kuwait has nothing to do with it. He 
added that Kuwait is ready regardless to deal with any 
emergency or Iraqi aggression. 
 
On February 2, it was reported that forty-five Iraqi sailors 
were arrested in Kuwaiti regional waters. When the sailors 
refused to return to Iraq they were handed over to the UN 
Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM). 
 
Al-Rai Al-Aam reported on February 1 that the Ministry of 
Information will air programs on local and satellite on "the 
legitimacy of the American presence in Kuwait, and its role 
in protecting the country against the dangers of the Iraqi 
regime." Also on February 1, Al-Qabas published a very 
positive two-page spread on U.S. troops in Kuwait, coming as 
a result of the first embed of local media with the U.S. 
military. 
 
Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Baqer, met with 
mosque imams and preachers reportedly in order to formulate 
a strategy to put an end to extremism. Baqer also asked that 
no cassettes or brochures be distributed in the mosques 
unless they are from the Ministry. 
 
On January 28, Mohammed Yousef Al-Mulaifi, Head of the 
Information Department at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic 
Affairs, who was detained after praising the two attackers 
who killed an American Marine on Failaka Island as 
"martyrs," was released without charge, out of "respect for 
the principles of democracy and freedom." The court, 
however, ordered him to pay KD 500, and to sign a written 
commitment that he will "maintain good behavior" for the 
next two years(see para 10). 
 
Al-Rai Al-Aam reported that the Public Prosecutor released 
on KD100 bail (approximately USD 300) two brothers who 
issued a fake I.D. for Sami Al-Mutairi, the man who 
confessed to killing an American civilian contractor in an 
ambush on January 21. The Public Prosecutor argued that the 
brothers issued the I.D. with "good intent," as they did not 
know that Al-Mutairi was not a mosque supervisor as he 
claimed. 
 
On February 1, all newspapers ran the text of the January 30 
warden message and travel warning to American citizens in 
Kuwait advising Americans to strongly consider leaving 
Kuwait. 
 
3. MP Adnan Abdelsamad wrote in Al-Dustoor, the National 
Assembly's weekly newspaper (1/29), that the American 
Embassy and officials at the Ministry of Interior had 
colluded to facilitate the departure from Kuwait of a minor 
Kuwaiti citizen against the will of her father. MP 
Abdelsamad declared that he holds the Minister of the 
Interior responsible for this. He goes on to write, "They 
say [the Americans] are here to protect the sovereignty of 
Kuwait from external dangers, so why would they violate 
Kuwaiti laws? Kuwaiti agreements with the U.S. don't include 
controlling Kuwaiti citizens." 
 
4.  "The Security of Kuwait First" 
Lead editorial in independent Al-Anba stated (2/1): "To put 
the security forces on alert is a must under these 
circumstances. The Ministry of Interior was supposed to 
tighten its security measures immediately after the Failaka 
incident. We did not have to wait for the murder of another 
American civilian. The citizens and the expatriates of 
Kuwait will be pleased to see the security forces on the 
streets and they won't be bothered by the checkpoints." 
 
5.  "We Must Be Alert" 
MP Abdelmohsen Jamal wrote in independent Al-Qabas (2/1): 
"[C]an the Iraqi regime cause instability in Kuwait? There 
are many people who sympathize with the Iraqi regime and 
therefore we must be alert to any internal attempt that 
could cause any fraction in our society." 
 
6.  "Against the War" 
Liberal Dr. Shamlan Al-Essa, professor of Political Science 
at Kuwait University, wrote in independent Al-Siyassah 
(2/1):  "Many people and movements in Kuwait have expressed 
their rejection to the war. not because of their love for 
Saddam, but rather because they reject on principle the idea 
of waging a war against Arabs and Muslims. They believe that 
the U.S. has undeclared goals in Iraq to fully control 
sources of oil. In principle, we are against the war for 
humanitarian reasons, but at the same time, we are tired of 
the deteriorating Arab situation in the region. therefore, 
there in no harm in any change led by the US." 
 
7.  Liberal weekly Al-Talea published a statement (2/1) by 
Islamist Dr. Ajeel Al-Nashmi, former Dean of the School of 
Sharia and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, that was 
posted on Al-Jazeera's website, inciting confrontation with 
America. Dr. Al-Nashmi's statement, as quoted in Al-Talea, 
reads, "As for the expected American-Jewish war against 
Iraq, Muslims should not contribute directly or indirectly 
in endangering the soul of other Muslims. This war is not 
just against Iraq, but against all Muslim countries and 
linked to the Jews' plans. and should be countered by 
activating the spirit of Islamic jihad." 
 
8.  "If It Wasn't For You, Saddam" 
Ali Al-Ajmi wrote in independent Al-Rai Al-Aam (2/2): "If it 
wasn't for you, tyrant, there would not be one foreign 
soldier on Kuwait's land. You led us to resort to them to 
protect ourselves against your treachery at a time when 
Kuwait looked with disdain on any foreign presence on its 
land. This was one of our political constants. If it wasn't 
for your invasion of Kuwait, the door would not have been 
opened for treaties such as Oslo, Madrid, and Camp David II 
to which Arabs were led, humiliated and deprived of free 
will. You opened the door wide to foreign intervention 
thanks to your foolishness and recklessness, and hung Arab 
dignity out to dry." 
 
9.  "Where is The Arab Street?" 
Faisal Al-Qinai wrote in Independent Al-Siyassah (2/2): 
"Regrettably, we have not seen one demonstration in any Arab 
capital to condemn Iraq's threats against Kuwait. Nor have 
we heard one statement from the Arab League on this issue. 
This peculiar Arab behavior is what forces us to be more 
friendly to the Americans" 
 
10. In independent Arabic daily Al-Seyassah (2/2), Islamist 
Mohammed Yousef Al-Mulaifi, Head of the Information 
Department at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, 
presents a theological argument between those who support 
Usama Bin Laden and those who agree with Ahmed Baqer, 
Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Baqer's argument is 
that killing Americans is forbidden because they have signed 
a covenant with the Muslim people of Kuwait. Al-Mulaifi 
attributes the following argument to Bin Laden's followers: 
We agree that it is indeed forbidden to kill infidels with 
whom we have a covenant. Americans have not kept this 
covenant because "they have announced Jerusalem to be the 
eternal capital of the Jews. Can anyone deny that everything 
that is happening to our people in Palestine is because of 
their support? . Are those who came to the land of Muslims 
to impose a war on our neighbors, a war that Muslims don't 
want, can you label them as those with whom we have a 
covenant?" Throughout Al-Mulaifi's column, he refers to Al- 
Qaeda with the word `terrorist' between parenthesis and 
followed by an exclamation mark. 
 
11.  How Do We Stop Al-Qaeda Operations? 
Islamist Mohammad Al-Mulaifi wrote in independent Al- 
Seyassah (2/5): "Al-Qaeda operations, called `guerrilla 
warfare,' have become the alternative to an inclusive 
confrontation after their failure in Afghanistan. This type 
of war is a based on the strategy used by the Companion of 
the Prophet (Sahabi), Abu Bussair, to defeat the infidels of 
Quraish. [I]s this strategy applicable to defeating the 
enemies of Islam today? In fact, one of the biggest mistakes 
that Muslims commit is taking religious texts out of context 
to serve their own needs and interests. Anti-terrorism 
campaigns will not stop these operations because those who 
believe that they should sacrifice their blood for their 
beliefs will not be frightened. Therefore, let us put aside 
the strategy of violence and adopt the strategy of dialogue. 
 
12. "Dr. Daum's Warning" 
Ahmad Al-Dayain wrote in independent Al-Rai Al-Aam (2/4): 
"The German Ambassador to Kuwait, Dr. Daum, stated in a 
seminar held by Kuwait University's Gulf and Arab Peninsula 
Studies Center that ousting Saddam will be a great disaster 
for Kuwait, resulting in the waiving of Iraq's debts and 
compensations to Kuwait. The Ambassador's statement does not 
mean that Saddam's presence is the best solution for Kuwait, 
but it simply means that his ouster will impose new 
challenges on us. [including] requests for Kuwait to 
contribute to the rehabilitation of Iraq; expansion of 
Iraq's marine outlets to the Arabian Gulf; the nature of 
Kuwaiti relations with a new Iraqi regime." 
 
 
URBANCIC